V.JANARTHANAN Vs. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) When bail applications were filed earlier by the very same petitioners in Crl.O.P.Nos.10954, 10955 and 10958 of 2022, the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court, to which one of us was a party, passed the following order on 16/8/2022.

(2.) The case of the prosecution is that the first Petitioner in Crl.O.P.No. 10954 of 2022 was the Managing Director of the Company by name M/s.Disc Assets Lead India Limited (Company) called as DALIL, in short and the second Petitioner in Crl.O.P.No.10954 of 2022 was the Joint Managing Director of the said Company. The Petitioner in Crl.O.P.No.10955 of 2022 was the Founder Director and Managing Director of the said Company till the year 2009. The Petitioner in Crl.O.P.No.10958 of 2022 was the employee of the said Company and had actively assisted the Directors of the Company. The Company was incorporated in the Year 2006 and was in the business of collection of deposits from customers all over Tamil Nadu. They had floated two schemes called ILPS and CDLPS by inducing delible general public to part with their money on false inducements and promise on profitable returns of immovable properties or cash. However, the Company did not keep up its promise and no lands were allotted to the customers. Some of the customers were compensated monetarily. In the year 2013, the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) initiated inquiries against the Company stating that the Company was doing the business of collecting deposits without SEBI 's permissions. To circumvent this legal impediment, the Directors started collecting money from customers through another Company by name M/s. DAL Marketing Solutions Limited (DMS). In the year 2016, SEBI had passed an order directing the Company to stop all business activities and refund the deposits received from the customers. In spite of the orders of SEBI, the Company collected amounts from its customers between 2015 to 2017 through another entity M/s.Aiyan Marketing Solutions Private Limited. The Company thus collected a sum of Rs.1,137,00,00,000.00 (Rupees One Thousand One Hundred and Thirty Seven Crores only) and purchased immovable properties to the tune of Rs.200,00,00,000.00 (Rupees Two Hundred Crores only). The amounts collected were diverted to various subsidiaries and unconnected entities were the family members / close relatives of the Directors of the Company.

(3.) The Economic Offences Wing of Tamil Nadu Police registered a case in Crime No.6/2016, dtd. 2/6/2016, for the offences under Ss. 406, 420 and 120 B of Indian Penal Code read with Sec. 5 of the Tamil Nadu Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishment) Act, 1997. Thereafter, based on the FIR an Enforcement case Information Report in [ECIR/MDSZO/04/2018] was recorded on 9/7/2018 against the Company and its Directors for the offences committed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.