RAHUL RADHESHYAM BHOMAVAT Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Feeling aggrieved with an order of rejection of an application for Anticipatory Bail by the Additional Sessions Judge, Raigad- Alibaug, the present application has been preferred amongst following facts and grounds. The learned Additional Sessions had rejected the second application of the applicant by the impugned order.

(2.) The case has a chequered history. The applicant has been booked under Sections 409 , 418 , 420 , 465 , 467 , 468 , 471 , 477 , 163 , 120B r/w Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, under Sections 3 and 4 of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, 1999, under Section 147 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 and under Section 65 and 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 in C.R. No.34 of 2011. There are as many as 44 accused chargesheeted by the Pen Police Station.

(3.) Shishir Prabhakar Dharkar is the prime accused, who was the Chairman of the Pen Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd., Tal. Pen, District Raigad (for short "Pen Bank"). Rest of the accused are either office bearers or are connected with the Pen Bank in some capacity. An FIR came to be lodged on 22.03.2011 by one Tushar Kakade, Special Auditor of Co-operative Societies. As per the report, accused Shishir Dharkar and other office bearers of Pen Bank along with the Auditors, had conspired, colluded and created bogus accounts in fictitious names and thereby siphoned monies from those fictitious accounts and put the Pen Bank to a monetary loss of INR 598.72 crores. The offences are said to have committed during the period 2008 to 24.09.2010. Accordingly, C.R. No. 34 of 2011 came to be registered against the accused persons as above. It appears from the record, more particularly, the charge-sheet laid by the Investigating Agency that accused Shishir Dharkar is the kingpin, who has payed a leading role in the entire scam running into 598.72 crores. He and his wife Mrs. Gul Raihana Omar, were the owners of one M/s. Space Mercantile Co. Pvt. Ltd. (for short "Space Mercantile"). The applicant is said to have purchased entire shares of this Space Mercantile and was the Additional Director of the company during 2007 to 2010. The said Space Mercantile had two accounts bearing Account Nos. 208 and 357 in the Pen Bank. The applicant accused is said to have in collusion with Shishir Dharkar and others committed the offences as alleged.