M.C. KAMARUDDIN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Application for regular bail under Section 439 of Cr. P.C.

(2.) The prosecution case pertains to complaints filed by different depositors for having lost their money deposited with a company named 'Fashion Gold International Private Limited,' Cheruvatoor and its sister concerns, of which the applicant who is a member of the legislative assembly, is a Chairman. The allegation of the prosecution is that several gullible persons were induced to deposit money in the concerns belonging to the accused persons and all those amounts were dishonestly misappropriated by them and the poor depositors were cheated. The applicant being an MLA and holding an important position in a political party, wielded huge influence on these gullible investors and they relied upon his assurance that the money would be safe with the financial institutions of which he was the Chairman.

(3.) The applicant contends that he is innocent and the allegations are not true. He was only a name lender for the company as a Chairman. The companies were run by the other accused and the applicant being an MLA, was mainly stationed in Thiruvananthapuram and visited his native village only for the purpose of the welfare of his subjects. The applicant states that he has no other criminal antecedents apart from these cases which have been registered against him. He has not been actively participating in the affairs of the company, even though there is some evidence regarding his attending the meeting of the companies and the sister concerns. The earlier bail application was dismissed by this Court mainly for the reason that it is an economic fraud and therefore the applicant is not entitled to bail at the nascent stage, where the investigating agency will have to be given more time to delve deep into the alleged act of misappropriation by the accused.