MUMBAI: The Mumbai sessions court rejected the anticipatory bail application of four partners of Punjalal G Dave Realtors LLP, who were booked in a case of cheating and breach of trust.
The accused, including Maulik Dave, allegedly defrauded a 63-year-old Ghatkopar resident, Sanjay Dhawan, of Rs 3.91 crore under the pretext of investing in redevelopment projects.
The case stems from a complaint lodged by Dhawan at Ghatkopar police station. He accused the partners of inducing him and his late father, Janakraj, to invest in two redevelopment projects in Ghatkopar and Borivali, promising them shops and profits. Despite investing Rs 5.5 crore in the project initially, and an additional Rs 3.91 crore between 2013 and 2015, Dhawan alleged the developers neither fulfilled their commitments nor returned the investment.
In his ruling, the judge stated that despite the defence’s argument that the transaction was a civil matter involving unsecured loans, the evidence pointed towards intentional fraud.
The court noted that substantial sums of money were transferred to the personal accounts of the accused rather than the company accounts, suggesting the accused had no intention of returning the funds or completing the redevelopment projects.
“Upon collectively considering the entire plea, grievance submissions, contentions, and record material availed, prima facie it reveals the applicants attempted to create certain facts and circumstances to show that the alleged dispute between them was purely civil in nature and they did not misappropriate any deposit amount. Thereby, in view of such conduct and behaviour of the applicants, I felt every material concern, fact, and circumstance required to be investigated, interrogated cautiously, seriously, minutely, and extensively,” remarked SM Tapkire, Additional Session Judge.
The court emphasised the need for a thorough investigation into the financial transactions and the intentions behind them, noting that the accused provided vague and inconsistent responses during the inquiry. Furthermore, the court observed that the civil suit filed by the accused developers for Rs 30.5 crore against Dhawan seemed to be an attempt to counter the criminal proceedings.
