Amit Bansal JUDGMENT
Amit Bansal, J.
1. By way of the present bail applications, the applicant seeks regular bail in (i) FIR NO. 42/2019 dated 16th March, 2019, (ii) FIR NO. 33/2019 dated 12th March, 2019, (iii) FIR NO. 10/2019 dated 8th February, 2019 and (iv) FIR NO. 43/2019 dated 16th March, 2019, all under Sections 420/406/120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) registered at Police Station EOW.
2. The aforementioned FIRs were registered on the complaints of homebuyers, who have alleged that M/s Amrapali Leisure Valley Private Limited, M/s Amrapali Dream Valley Private Limited (hereinafter the accused companies), and their directors/officials, including the applicant herein, have committed offences of cheating, fraud and criminal breach of trust in respect of various residential projects in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. It is alleged that despite payment of majority of the consideration amount by most of the homebuyers, the projects were either stalled/abandoned or the possession of flats was given in a highly delayed and incomplete manner. It is further alleged that the accused persons had misrepresented the fact that all the requisite permissions/sanctions were obtained from the concerned authorities, prior to accepting the booking amount from the homebuyers.
3. The dates of arrest in each of the FIRs are as follows: -
The Chargesheet has been filed in all of the four FIRs. However, the charges are yet to be framed in any of the FIRs.
4. As per the Status Reports filed on behalf of the State, the applicant along with other accused persons, is involved in a large number of cases and the EOW and Delhi Police are investigating more than 60 cases against the Amrapali Group of Companies.
5. During the investigation, data taken from the Registrar of Companies (ROC) showed that the accused company i.e., M/s Amrapali Leisure Valley Pvt. Ltd. had last filed its audited balance sheet with the ROC for the financial year 2014-2015 and thereafter, no financial records were filed. As per the said balance sheet, out of the Rs. 1009 crores received by the accused company from homebuyers for various projects developed by it, an amount to the tune of Rs. 503.58 crores has been diverted in the form of long-term loans and advances and Rs. 65.81 crores as short term loans and advances to the group companies of Amrapali Group and others.
6. It is submitted that the present applicant, along with other accused persons, was an authorised signatory in the bank accounts of the accused companies which proves that the applicant was at the helm of the financial affairs of the accused companies.
7. Furthermore, the entire gamut of alleged financial fraud along with siphoning of the funds, allegedly committed by the accused persons including the applicant herein has been dealt with by the Supreme Court in Bikram Chatterji and Ors. v. Union of India in Writ Petition No. 940/2017 dated 23rd July, 2019. Further, the Supreme Court had also ordered a forensic audit of the Amrapali Group of Companies. As per the findings of the Forensic Auditor, the accused companies i.e., M/s Amrapali Leisure Valley Private Limited and M/s Amrapali Dream Valley Private Limited have diverted huge amounts to the tune of Rs. 431.11 crores and Rs. 445.33 crores respectively, collected from homebuyers, in the form of Inter Corporate Deposits (ICDs) to other companies in the Amrapali Group.
8. Per Contra, it has been submitted on behalf of the counsel for the applicant that the applicant herein has neither been named, nor there is any allegation against him in any of the aforementioned four FIRs.
9. It is submitte........