New Delhi, Dec 10 (PTI) A Delhi court has summoned veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra and two others in a cheating case related to the Garam Dharam Dhaba franchise, according to the complainant's lawyer.
Judicial magistrate Yashdeep Chahal passed the order against the 89-year-old actor on a complaint filed by Delhi businessman, Sushil Kumar, who alleged that he was lured into investing in the franchise, the lawyer D D Pandey said.
The judge said there was a prima facie case of cheating and criminal conspiracy against the actor and the co-accused persons, Deepak Bhardwaj and Umang Tiwari, and directed them to appear before the court on February 20, 2025.
The judge noted in an order passed on December 5 that the documents on record prima facie pertained to "Garam Dharam Dhaba" and the letter of intent also bore the logo of the restaurant.
“It is fairly apparent that the transaction between the parties pertain to Garam Dharam Dhaba and was being pursued by accused number 2 (Bhardwaj) and 3 (Tiwari), on behalf of accused number 1 (Dharam Singh Deol). The evidence on record prima-facie indicates that the accused persons induced the complainant in furtherance of their common intent and the ingredients of the offence of cheating are duly disclosed,” the judge said.
The court summoned Bhardwaj and Tiwari for allegedly criminally intimidating the complainant when he enquired about the project after the payment.
It is fairly apparent that transaction between the parties pertains to Garam Dharam Dhaba and was being pursued by the co-accused on behalf of the actor, the court noted.
According to the complaint, in April 2018, the co-accused approached him on behalf of Dharam Singh Deol (Dharmendra) with an offer to open a franchise of Garam Dharma Dhaba on NH-24/NH-9 in Uttar Pradesh.
He claimed that he handed over a cheque for an amount of Rs 17.70 lakh in September, 2018. However, the accused stopped responding to him thereafter, the complainant alleged.