Actress Sushmita Sen, asked by the city’s civic body to pay a fine of Rs 23.86 lakh for allegedly evading octroi on an imported vehicle she purchased, on Thursday got some relief from the Bombay High Court which held that the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) had no power to impose such a penalty before the person was convicted by a court.

Sen had filed a petition in the HC challenging the civic body’s order of April this year ordering her to pay octroi of Rs 2.16 lakh for importing a Toyota Landcruiser vehicle and a penalty ten times the same for allegedly evading octroi. The court, however, said Sen’s “conduct was blame worthy” and upheld the MCGM’s case that she had tried to mislead the authorities.

The court also issued a show cause notice to the actress seeking a reply as to why action should not be taken against her.

Meanwhile, a Chennai  city court dismissed a cheque dishonour case against Dharmendra and his son Sunny Deol. Metropolitan Magistrate dismissed the case “as withdrawn” after the complainant took back his complaint. The court had issued summons to the father-son duo, on September 12, to appear before the court on Thursday.