RAJENDRA SINGH SETHIA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner along with Amarjit Singh is facing trial for offences under Ss. 120B read with Ss. 420. 467, 468 and 471 Indian Penal Code . and also for substantive offencepunishable under Ss. 420 and 471 read with S. 467 Indian Penal Code . The charge sheet under S. 173(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (for short 'the Code') was filed on 29-5-1985 in. the Court of the .Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (for short the CMM'), during the pendency of the present petition which is under S. 439 of the Code.

(2.) An F.I.R. being R.C. No. 1185 was registered on 1-3-1985 at 5.00 P.M. against the petitioner and others under Ss. 120B, 420, 467, 468 and 471 Indian Penal Code . This was under S. 154 of the Code. It is mentioned in this F.I.R. that the petitioner, an Indian national, based in the U.K. (London) was the Managing Director of certain group companies and during the period 1982-1984 conspired with certain employees. namely, Ashish Banarjee and Rajender Kumar Batodia and certain officials of the Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India and Central Bank of India and other institutions based in U.K. and some other countries to defraud these banks' institutions to the tune of millions if pound sterlings. It is then said that in pursuance of the said criminal conspiracy, these banks and institutions were dishonestly induced by the petitioner and his associates to extend loans to the group of companies controlled by the petitioner in respect of alleged contracts with the Nigerian National Supply Corporation and other African Bodies which did not have sufficient foreign exchange reserve required prior to the grant of such loans. It was then stated that such loans were reported to have been obtained on the strength of false representations regarding the value of assets held by the petitioner to meet the amounts of the loans.

(3.) The petitioner was arrested on 1-3-1985 itself at about 10.15 P.M. outside Maurya Sheraton Hotel, New Delhi, where lie was staying. His room in the hotel was searched One passport being No. W-900509 in the name of R. K. Dugar in which the photograph of the petitioner had been pasted was recovered. Certain other documents including one return air Ticket of Swiss Air ex-Calcutta Delhi-Bombay Cairo-GenevaNew York-Geneva-Bombay-Calcutta, and travellers cheques of the value of US $ 5001- were also recovered. These documents were again in the name of R. K. Dugar. During the course of investigation, Amarjit Singh, the then General Manager of the Punjab National Bank Branch at London, was also arrested on 16-3-1985 at New Delhi. He was staying in Maharani Guest House, Sunder Nagar, New Delhi, at that time. During the course of search of his room in the guest house, certain documents were recovered one of which was a photo album which showed that Amarjit Singh and the petitioner were quite close to each other. Investigations revealed that apart from other bills, the petitioner in conspiracy with Amarjit Singh co-accused had also submitted false and forged bills to the tune of US $ 10.4 millions drawn on In-House Company based at Hongkong. The charge sheet which has been filed in the present case relates to the offences committed in respect of these transactions involving US $ 10,4 millions.