Cops acted in haste: High Court declares Anchor Group director's arrest illegal
The Bombay High Court has declared the arrest of Hemang Shah, the 50-year-old director of Anchor Group, illegal and has reprimanded the police for acting in undue haste.Shah was arrested on allegations of financial fraud levelled by his elder brother Mehul Shah. He was detained at Delhi airport on May 17 while attempting to travel to Oman's Muscat based on the LOC issued against him, and was then brought to Mumbai. According to prosecutors, a formal arrest was made the next day.advertisementIn its judgment, the High Court ruled there was no necessity to detain Shah in a display of "zeal and enthusiasm", and suggested that the arrest appeared to be aimed at recovering a disputed financial sum.
The court came down heavily on the conduct of the police, observing that the registration of the complaint at 2.14 am on May 14 - just after midnight - and the issuance of a Look-Out Circular (LOC) the same day reflected "alarming urgency".Shah filed a petition before the Bombay High Court challenging his arrest. Representing Shah were a legal team comprising senior advocate Ravi Prakash and advocates Munaf Virjee, Aditya Dewan, Debopriyo Moulik and Sagar Shetty, who appeared along with AMR Law and Hrituraj Singh.The plea argued that the matter was a financial dispute between Shah and his elder brother, Mehul, and father, and attempts were being made to resolve it through mediation.advertisementIt said that immediately after Shah's arrest, Mehul Shah's wife contacted Hemang Shah's wife, pressuring her to bring a cheque book to the office of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). Chat messages allegedly evidencing this were submitted before the court.Upon reviewing these chats, the bench concluded that "the objective behind the petitioner's custody was the recovery of the amount being negotiated through mediation".Shah also claimed he was detained at Delhi airport around 5.30 pm on May 17 and was produced before a magistrate at 10.45 pm the next day - over 24 hours later - making the custody unlawful. While he was informed of the grounds for his arrest, no relative, friend, or nominated person was notified, his legal team contended. They alleged that the arrest was used as a tool to coerce and pressure Shah.The prosecution argued that Shah and the EOW officials reached Mumbai at 10.30 am on May 18, following which he was formally arrested at 7.30 pm and produced before the court later that night. They also claimed Shah's father was informed about the arrest.However, the court rejected the prosecution's argument, calling it "astonishing and shocking", noting that Shah's father was himself one of the complainants in the case.Must Watch
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