TMI Blog2020 (5) TMI 540X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Ministry of Corporate Affairs vide order dated 21.2.2018 ordered investigation into the affairs of 11 Companies of Rotomac Group and Frost International Ltd. and during investigation, it has been revealed that the approval was taken from Ministry of Corporate Affairs to investigate the affairs of another Company, i.e., F.I.L. and Ministry of Corporate Affairs vide order dated 22.8.2019 granted the said approval. Taking into account the nature and gravity of the offence which shakes the conscience of the society and public at large, the investigation being still pending and there are strong apprehensions that there would be chances of tampering of evidence by the applicants, the prayer for grant of interim bail is hereby refused. - Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 12047 of 2020 - - - Dated:- 5-5-2020 - Ramesh Sinha, J. For the Petitioner : Gunjan Jadwani For the Respondent : A.S.G.I. ORDER HON'BLE RAMESH SINHA, J. 1. The present application under section 439 Cr.P.C. has been filed by the applicants for interim bail. The prayer made in the present application is reproduced here under:- This Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ternational Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as 'F.I.L.') by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office-respondent no. 2 (hereinafter referred to as 'the SFIO') in the public interest . Pursuant to the order of MCA, Director SFIO vide Order No. SFIO/Inv./AOI/2018-19 dated 20.06.2018 had appointed a team of officers for carrying out investigation into the affairs of the Company. The applicant no. 1 is the Director and CEO of M/s F.I.L. and applicant no. 2 is the Managing Director of F.I.L. 6. The applicants before approaching this Court for interim bail have approached the Apex Court due to present pandemic and spread of Covid-19 (Corona Virus) due to which working of all the Courts were suspended in the State and filed Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 126 of 2020 for seeking following relief:- Pass a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ for seeking of immediate release of the petitioners in light of the threat posed to the life and personal liberty of the petitioners in light of the Covid-19. 7. The Apex Court on 1.4.2020 was pleased to dispose of the said writ petition and directed the applicants to approach High Court by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ved under the N.D.P.S. Act, 1985 considering the lock down due to Covid-19. He also placed reliance on another judgment of the Delhi High Court in the case of Babulal vs. N.C.T. Delhi in Crl. Appeal No. 291 of 2020 by which the Delhi High Court vide order dated 20.4.2020 was pleased to grant interim suspension of sentence to the appellant, who was sentenced for heinous crimes under the POCSO Act, considering the unprecedented circumstances of a public health emergency that prevail today and the consequent need to decongest prisons for overall medical safety of all the prisoners... . 9. Learned counsel for the applicants further placed reliance on an order passed by Lucknow Bench of this Court in Crl. Misc. Bail Application No. 2013 of 2020 Subhash Chandra Agarwal vs. State of U.P. passed on 30.4.2020 in which interim bail has been granted to the accused in the said case for the offence under sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 I.P.C. He also submitted that the investigation of the present case is pending since June, 2018 and the applicants have been co-operating in the investigation being conducted by the SIFO. He submitted that applicant no. 1, who had gone to New Delhi for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e financial statements of F.I.L. deliberately concealing material facts thereby inducing BFIs to fraudulently extending credit facilities to F.I.L. which ultimately remained outstanding as account of F.I.L. became N.P.A. The falsified financial statements signed by the applicant no. 1 for the financial year 2013-14 to 2017-18 that was filed with ROC and that submitted to BFIs depicted false MT trade receivables to the tune of approx. ₹ 3500 crore in F.I.L. as per financial statements for financial year 2017-18. He submitted that the offence committed by the applicants being the Director and the Managing Director of F.I.L., has come into light during the investigation, is of grave nature. The plea which has been taken by the applicants for granting them interim bail in view of spread of Covid-19 (Corona Virus) is only an attempt to claim a relief indirectly which they cannot seek directly in such a offence of high magnitude amounting to thousands of crores. As this stage, their release would definitely hamper the investigation and further there are strong chances of tempering with the investigation of the present case. He further argued that so far as the judgment the Apex Cou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n vs. Directorate of Enforcement, (2018) 11 SCC 46 and State of Gujarat vs. Mohanlal Jitamalji Porwal, (1987) 2 SCC 364 in which the Court has observed that economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail. The economic offence having deep rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of Public funds, needs to be viewed seriously and considered as grave offences affecting the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious threat to the financial health of the Companies. The court thus observed that while granting bail, the court has to keep in mind the nature of accusations, nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of punishment which conviction will ential, the larger interest of the public/State and other similar considerations . 11. Considered the rival submissions made by learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. 12. It transpires from the record that the applicants before approaching this Court has filed Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 126 of 2020 before the Apex Court and on 1st April, 2020, the Apex Court passed the following order:- The above writ petitions are filed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ected by Corona Virus. The applicant no. 1 is the son of applicant no. 2 and further claims that he is also a patient of Asthma. Due to over crowding in District Jail where they are confined they cannot follow the guideline of social distancing measures, including significantly limiting face to face interaction and due to lack of medical care regarding their lives in the prevalent environment in jail, they may be released on interim bail by this Court. In this regard, the applicant's counsel have also drawn the attention of Court towards the order dated 23.3.2020 passed by the Apex Court Suo Motu in the aforesaid writ petition and also circular dated 18.3.2020 of this Court whereby the working of court below has been suspended. So far as the order dated 23.3.2020, it is evident that the Apex Court has directed each State/Union Territories to constitute a High Powered Committee to determine which class of prisoners can be released on parole or on interim bail for said period as may be thought appropriate. The Court has directed that the State/Union Territories could consider the release of the prisoners, who have been convicted or under trial for the offence which prescribed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as the case may be, on the bail applications at the jails itself and it shall be done forthwith. For drafting bail applications, to be moved by under trial prisoners assistance and services of prison officers, jail staff, jail Para Legal Volunteers (PLVs) and Panel Lawyers empanelled with the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) may be utilized under intimation to the Secretary, DLSA of the concerned district. For this purpose passes shall be issued to the Judges/Magistrate Panel Lawyers during lock down period by the District Administration. c) The Undertrial Review Committee contemplated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Re Inhuman Conditions in 1382 prisons, (2016) 3 SCC 700, shall meet every week and take such decisions in consultation with the concerned district authority as per the said judgment. d) Jail Superintendent shall be in continuous touch with concerned Secretary, District Legal Services Authority regarding disposal of interim bail applications moved by the under trial prisoners so that proper arrangements may be made. 16. From a perusal of the resolution of the said Committee, it is apparent that the Committee has resolved to release the under ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... no. 2 has visited the jail for the purpose of investigation since the date, i.e., 19.3.2020 they have been detained in jail. He stated that the applicants have been co-operating in the investigation and the applicant no. 1 was arrested by the respondent no. 2 when he went for the purpose of interrogation on 19.3.2020 at Delhi and no complaint has been filed till date under the Companies Act, 2013 in pursuance of the said investigation. With respect to the argument of learned counsel for the applicants, the Court only wants to observe that from a perusal of the ground of arrest, it is apparent that applicant no. 1 Sujay Desai was the Director/CEO of F.I.L. and along with said Company, the investigation has been ordered and is underway into the affairs of Rotomac Global Pvt. Ltd. and 10 other Companies and Frost International Limited by S.F.I.O. in public interest under the order dated 21.2.2018 and 22.8.2019 respectively of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India and applicant no. 2 Uday J. Desai was functioning as Director of Frost International Limited from 31.5.1995 onward and as Managing Director of the said Company from 29.12.2008 onward and under their direction th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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