HC asks Armaan Kohli to clarify if he wished to pay ₹50L to ex in assault case
The Bombay High Court has given actor Armaan Kohli an ultimatum to pay ?50 lakh to his former girlfriend Neeru Randhawa as a settlement in an assault case or face imprisonment. The court will recall its earlier order if the dues are not paid. The matter has been postponed for further hearing on July 18.
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday asked actor Armaan Kohli to either pay ₹50 lakh to his former girlfriend Neeru Randhawa as a settlement in the 2018 assault case against him or it would send him to prison.
The division bench of justice Nitin Sambre and justice RN Laddha added that the bench will have to recall the earlier order, quashing an FIR registered against the actor for assaulting Randhawa, if he failed to clear the dues. The court has now posted the matter for further hearing on July 18.
On June 3, 2018, Kohli had allegedly assaulted Randhawa and pushed her down a flight of stairs, resulting in a bleeding injury to her forehead for which she claimed to have had to undergo 15 sutures.
Pursuant to the complaint lodged by Randhawa, the same day the Santacruz police had registered an FIR against Kohli for offences punishable under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intention of provoking breach of public peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and had arrested him.
On June 15, 2018, the high court quashed the FIR and ordered Kohli to be released from Arthur Road jail, where he was lodged at the time after Randhawa gave her consent to close the criminal proceedings initiated by her in view of the amicable settlement between her and the actor. Under the settlement, the actor had agreed to pay a sum of ₹1 crore to her and an amount of ₹50 lakh was already paid to her by then.
As regards the payment of the balance amount, two post-dated cheques for ₹25 lakh each were issued by the Kohli family in Randhawa’s name. She had moved high court for recalling the order after both the cheques came to be dishonoured. She claimed that the assurance given to the court was a fraud played by Kohli on the court.
On Tuesday, when the matter came up for hearing before the bench headed by Justice Sambre, the judges told Kohli to clarify his stand by the next date, warning that they will have to recall the order, if he failed to fulfil the assurance given to the court in June 2018.
