Mumbai: A special court on Thursday transferred the Rs 140 crore cheating and conspiracy case involving Guruashish Construction and its directors to the magistrate’s court after the CBI failed to find evidence of involvement by any public servants. Special judge B Y Phad said, “…as there are no public servants arrayed as accused in the chargesheet, this special court lacks the specific jurisdiction to proceed with the matter or take cognisance of the IPC offences against private individuals in isolation since no one of them is accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act.”The investigation into Guruashish Construction, Rakeshkumar Wadhwan, Sarang Wadhawan, and Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) originated from allegations of criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal misconduct. The case was registered on Dec 20, 2022, based on a complaint from Debraj Bag, DGM, Union Bank of India. This complaint was lodged against Guruashish Construction and others, alleging criminal conspiracy and cheating Union Bank of India to the tune of Rs 140.68 crore plus expenses and uncharged interest, stemming from the availing of a term loan of Rs 200 crore.While the CBI chargesheeted the private entities for offences including forgery and using forged documents, the supplementary chargesheet stated that “during further investigation, no role of the public servants surfaced”.The court noted that its jurisdiction as a special tribunal is primarily derived from the presence of at least one accused who is a public servant as defined under the law. During the proceedings, the court issued a notice to Bag, since retired. Bag filed an affidavit stating that following an internal examination by the bank, staff accountability was examined and no bank official was found accountable. Bag expressed no objection to the court accepting the final report. In the final order, the judge noted the procedural necessity of the transfer, stating that “this court, being a special court constituted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, primarily derives its jurisdiction to take cognisance and conduct trials where at least one accused is a ‘public servant’ as defined under the law”. The judge invoked powers under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to move the case. The superintendent of the court has been directed to submit all case records and the charge sheet to the chief judicial magistrate, Mumbai, for further disposal in accordance with the law.
