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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Bank fraud case: Court rejects plea of accused to take part in trial without bail
Kanpur: Special Judge Companies Act Azad Singh on Tuesday rejected the plea of two accused who sought permission to appear and participate in the trial of Rs 7,820 crore bank fraud case without seeking bail. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The judicial official not only dismissed their application but also ordered that a date be fixed every week in the case. June 17 has been fixed as the next date of hearing. The accused applicants, Sunil Verma and Anoop Kumar Verma, had submitted an application before the court to allow their participation in the trial. Kaushal Kishore Sharma, special prosecutor for the case, strongly opposed the plea, stating that without obtaining bail they can not be allowed to participate in the proceedings. The Companies Act contains special provisions regarding bail, which override those in the Cr PC. Consequently, the judicial official dismissed the application and fixed June 17 as the next date of hearing. Sharma stated that the Serious Fraud Investigation Office had lodged a complaint against 69 accused on behalf of several banks in bank fraud amounting to Rs 7,820 crore. Some name and famed persons of the city were also implicated in the case while as many as 20 accused were residing abroad and their files had been separated from the main case. Sharma mentioned that the court had already issued a non-bailable warrant against the accused, Satish Chandra Gupta, who is living abroad. The two accused Sunil Verma and Anoop Kumar Badhera had approached the apex court, where an order was passed that no coercive action should be taken against them, although their application is still pending. On Monday last, they moved an application before the court, which was dismissed. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now One of the accused, Vikram Kothari, has died, while others such as Rahul Kothari, builder Vishwanath Gupta, industrialist Suyash Desari and others have obtained bail orders in their favour from the apex court. The special prosecutor added that both accused have also applied for permission to travel abroad, and the court has reserved its order on that prayer. Speaking with TOI, the special prosecutor stated that the accused had formed a company for mercantile trading. They acquired a letter of credit from a bank, claiming that the company would purchase rice from one country and sell it in another. However, they used the funds for personal gains and only displayed sales and purchases on paper. The corporate ministry detected the nexus and ordered the Serious Fraud Investigation Office to lodge a complaint in the Companies Act court in 2020. Kanpur has the Companies Act court, which is the only one in Uttar Pradesh.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
SFIO report in CMRL case: Kerala HC extends status quo in proceedings before special court
Kochi: High court has extended by four months its earlier interim order directing the maintenance of status quo in proceedings before the special court concerning a report filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) against Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL), a Kochi-based company accused of financial fraud. Justice P V Kunhikrishnan extended the interim order on Friday in a petition filed by CMRL challenging the special court's order taking cognisance of the SFIO report and issuing summons to the accused, including T Veena, daughter of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Along with extending the interim order, the bench adjourned the matter with a direction to complete serving of notice on the respondents. In its petition, CMRL argued that it had not been granted an opportunity for a pre-cognisance hearing under Section 223(1) of the BNSS, asserting that the BNSS was applicable since the complaint was filed in March-April 2025. However, the central govt and SFIO maintained that CrPC would govern the proceedings, as BNSS came into effect only on July 1, 2024, and the investigation had commenced prior to that. In an earlier hearing, HC had directed the central govt to file a counter-affidavit on the issue. The petition arises from a SFIO complaint under the Companies Act before the special court in Ernakulam, alleging that CMRL was involved in fraudulent transactions worth Rs 182 crore. In an order dated April 11, the court arrayed Sasidharan Kartha, his son Saran Kartha, T Veena and their respective firms as accused. Veena was named for allegedly receiving Rs 2.73 crore from the company without rendering any services. The special court found sufficient grounds to take cognisance of the offences and issued process against the accused for violations of Sections 129 and 134, and for offences under Sections 447 (punishment for fraud) and 448 (punishment for making false statements), read with Section 447 of the Companies Act. CMRL has challenged the proceedings, citing denial of a pre-cognisance hearing. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
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Business Standard
21-04-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Gensol Engineering shares hit back-to-back lower circuits; here's why
Gensol Engineering shares hit 5 per cent lower circuit on April 21, 2025, at ₹111.65 per share on BSE. The southward movement in the shares came after reports suggested the government is considering initiating a probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) against Gensol Engineering and its promoters. Around 12:11 PM, Gensol Engineering share price was down 4.98 per cent at ₹111.65 per share on BSE. In comparison, the BSE Sensex was up 1.17 per cent at 79,474.16. The market capitalisation of the company stood at ₹424.3 crore. The 52-week high of the stock was at ₹1,125.75 per share and the 52-week low was at ₹111.65 per share. Gensol Engineering shares fell for the eighth straight session after the company's promoters were alleged of getting involved in fraudulent fund diversification. When Gensol Engineering made its public market debut through a small and medium enterprises (SME) initial public offering (IPO) in September 2019, its promoters held a commanding 96 per cent stake. Now, that figure has shrunk to a 'negligible' fraction. According to an order by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), this steep decline was not organic but allegedly orchestrated through a network of false disclosures, sham transactions, and diverted funds, which effectively led to a near-total promoter exit, even as unsuspecting investors were left holding the bag. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is conducting due diligence in the alleged fund diversion case involving Gensol Engineering, through the offices of the Director General (DG) and the Registrar of Companies (RoC), as per Business Standard sources. The company's ₹18 crore IPO had seen modest demand, having been subscribed 1.3 times with total bids of ₹23 crore. After listing, the promoters' holding dropped to 70.72 per cent. In July 2023, Gensol — in the business of providing solar consulting services, and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services — shifted to the mainboard, gaining access to a broader and more liquid investor base. In one year, shares of Gensol Engineering lost 87 per cent as compared to Sensex's rise of 6.6 per cent.
