T. KANNA RAO Vs. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is filed by accused No.2 under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. to release him on anticipatory bail in Crime No.RC-1/E2018-CBI/BS&FC/BLR for the offences punishable under Sections 420 , 120B of IPC and also under Sections 13(2) r/w. Section 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988.

(2.) I have heard the learned Senior Counsel Sri L. Ravichander on behalf of the petitioner and Sri P.Prasanna Kumar, learned Standing Counsel for respondent-CBI.

(3.) Before going to consider the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties, it is necessary to state the genesis of the case of the prosecution that complainant-Company is a financial institution, a Government of India undertaking. Accused No.1- Company is a Private Limited Company registered under the Companies Act , 1956 engaged in the business of procession and trading of agricultural commodities. Accused No.2 being the Managing Director and accused No.3 a Director of accused No.1-Company were in charge of the affairs of the said Company. It is alleged that accused Nos.2 and 3 on behalf of accused No.1-Company approached the complainant-Company for a term loan and offered 16 properties for mortgage at a distress sale value of 2.5 times of the loan having tentative market value of Rs.330.88 Crores for a loan of Rs.150 Crores. The said loan application was processed and the complainant-Company entrusted the work of evaluation of the properties to Andhra Pradesh Industrial and Technical, Consultancy Organisation Limited (APITCO) and MITCON. They evaluated the said 16 properties given by accused No.1-Company and they valued the market valuation at Rs.257.88 Crores and distress value of Rs.206.30 Crores by APITCO. So also, the MITCON has valued the said properties at a market value of Rs.253.82 Crores and distress sale value at Rs.203.06 Crores. Basing upon the valuation of accused No.1- Company, the complainant-Company sanctioned Rs.80 Crores on 23.1.2015 to accused No.1-Company which is represented by accused Nos.2 and 3. In the first instance, Rs.40 Crores was disbursed on 27.3.2015 and thereafter Rs.40 Crores was disbursed on 31.12.2015 payable in 16 equal quarterly instalments commencing from 27th month from the date of first disbursement, for the purpose of construction of storage facilities for processing, grading, standardization and storage of agricultural commodities. After sanction of the said loan, accused No.1-Company purchased three agricultural lands. These three parcels of land along with three properties out of 16 properties initially offered for mortgage were mortgaged worth security cover of 2.5 times of the loan amount. Thereafter, accused No.1- Company committed default in repayment of the said loan and as such the said loan was classified as Non- Performing Assets (NPA) by the complainant-Company. After converting and classifying the loan as NPA, the complainant-Company got valued the properties which were given as distress sale value offered as security through M/s.Spoorthi Consultancy and M/s.Lopa Verma & Associates. The first Company valued the market value at Rs.14.37 Crores and distress sale value at Rs.11.05 Crores and second Company valued the said properties at the market value of Rs.28.21 Crores and distress sale value at Rs.23.98 Crores. After coming to know the said discrepancies in the valuation of the properties by accused No.4 and 5, the complainant-Company came to know that accused Nos.1 to 3 conspiring with accused Nos.4 and 5 have made artificial inflation of the said valuation of the said properties offered as securities and got loan of Rs.80 Crores by cheating and playing fraud. On the basis of the said complaint, a case has been registered.