MUMBAI: A special court has transferred the Rs 140 crore cheating and conspiracy case involving Guruashish Construction and its directors to the magistrate’s court. This decision comes after the CBI was unable to provide evidence implicating any public servants.
Special judge B.Y. Phad stated, “Since no public servants are included as accused in the chargesheet, this special court lacks the necessary jurisdiction to proceed with the matter or acknowledge the IPC offences against private individuals independently, as none of them fall under the Prevention of Corruption Act.”
The investigation into Guruashish Construction, along with Rakeshkumar Wadhwan, Sarang Wadhawan, and Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), stemmed from allegations of criminal conspiracy, cheating, and misconduct. The case was filed on December 20, 2022, following a complaint from Debraj Bag, DGM of Union Bank of India. This complaint accused Guruashish Construction and others of cheating the Union Bank of India for Rs 140.68 crore plus expenses and uncharged interest, arising from the acquisition of a term loan of Rs 200 crore.
While the CBI charged the private entities with offences such as forgery and using forged documents, the supplementary chargesheet revealed, “During further investigation, no involvement of public servants was found.”
The court emphasized that its jurisdiction as a special tribunal primarily relies on the presence of at least one public servant as an accused under the law. During the proceedings, a notice was issued to Bag, who has since retired. Bag submitted an affidavit indicating that after an internal review by the bank, no officials were found accountable. He expressed no objection to the court accepting the final report. The judge highlighted the procedural need for the transfer, noting, “This court, as a special court established under the Prevention of Corruption Act, derives its jurisdiction to take cognizance and conduct trials only where at least one accused is a ‘public servant’ as defined by law.” The judge exercised powers under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to transfer the case, directing the court’s superintendent to submit all records and the chargesheet to the chief judicial magistrate in Mumbai for further processing per the law.
