Allahabad High Court
Nishu Chawla vs C.B.I. on 21 February, 2023
Author: Dinesh Kumar Singh
Bench: Dinesh Kumar Singh
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD ?Court No. - 87 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION U/S 438 CR.P.C. No. - 1995 of 2023 Applicant :- Nishu Chawla Opposite Party :- C.B.I. Counsel for Applicant :- Raghav Dev Garg Counsel for Opposite Party :- Sanjay Kumar Yadav Hon'ble Dinesh Kumar Singh,J.
1. Heard Sri Anurag Khanna, learned Senior Advocate in support of this application assisted by Sri Raghav Dev Garg, learned counsel for the accused applicant and Sri Gyan Prakash, learned Senior Advocate and Deputy Solicitor General of India, assisted by Sri Sanjay Kumar Yadav for the C.B.I. and perused record.
2. The present bail application under Section 438 Cr.P.C. has been filed seeking anticipatory bail in anticipation of his arrest in F.I.R. No. RC-0219-2016 (E) 0008 dated 16.05.2016, under Sections 120-B, 406, 420, 468, 471 I.P.C. and substantive offences thereof, Police Station C.B.I./E.O.-I, New Delhi.
3. A complaint dated 04.09.2015 was received from Sri Anjan Chattopadhyay, Assistant General Manager of Punjab National Bank against Sri Ashwani Chanana and others. The allegation in the F.I.R. in brief is that Sri Ashwani Chanana, and Sri Girish Chanana, the Directors of M/s CVS Steels Pvt Ltd had obtained a Cash Credit Limit of Rs.900 lacs and Term Loan of Rs.8.80 lacs for running business of manufacturing and sale & purchase of items in steel which was renewed to the company on 04.03.2010 against the hypothecation of goods and book debts. To secure the loan, the original title deed of House No. KB-46, Kavi Nagar, Ghaziabad, was deposited in the bank by one Sri Jagamandar Dass Jain, for the purpose of creating Equitable Mortgage. The said house being a lease hold property, Sri Jagamandar Dass Jain/borrowers also furnished a letter dated 18.11.2011 purportedly issued by the Ghaziabad Development Authority granting permission to mortgage the said lease hold property. Since the permission period of three years was to run out on 17.11.2014, the officials of the bank wrote a request letter to Ghaziabad Development Authority for extension of permission to mortgage for a further period of 3 years. Thereafter, the Ghaziabad Development Authority vide letter dated 27.03.2015 had apprised that the permission to mortgage dated 18.11.2011 was not issued by the office of Ghaziabad Development Authority and it was a forged letter. Further allegation was that the accounts of the company became highly irregular and the borrower did not repay the loan amount despite repeated reminders by the bank, hence the account of the borrower was classified as NPA 31.03.2014 with total outstanding amount of Rs.10,15,59,249.50.
4. The role of the accused applicant came fore during the course of investigation in commission of offence of banking fraud and cheating. The accused applicant was sole proprietor of M/s Signature Imports and Exports. The investigation revealed that from M/s CVS Steels Private Limited on the date 23.10.2009 vide Cheque No. 827755 an amount of Rs.50,00,000/- was credited in the account of M/s Shreyansh Alloys and Steel, on the samd date vide Cheque No. 49172 an amount of Rs.50,02,150/- was credited in the account of M/s Signature Import and Export (of Nishu Chawla, the present accused applicant) from M/s Shreyansh Alloys and Steel. On the same dated vide Cheque No. 709655 an amount of Rs.4,84,000/- was credited into the account of M/s Raunaq Industries from M/s Signature Import and Export, the concern of the present accused applicant. On the same date vide Cheque No. 2867 an amount of Rs.48,40,129/- was credited into M/s CVS Steels Pvt. Ltd. Thus the approximate amount of Rs.48,00,000/- started from M/s CVS Steels Pvt. Ltd and returned back on the same date. This is nothing but is a case of Round Tripping of bank fund.
5. C.B.I. has collected the sufficient evidence against the present accused applicant during the course of investigation and the case of the present accused applicant does not fall within the parameter of Section 438 Cr.P.C. to grant any indulgence to the present accused applicant and enlarge the accused-applicant on anticipatory bail. Banking fraud has become a practice by the people who obtains loans by creating forged documents with an intention to cheat the bank from beginning and the involvement of accused applicant in Round Tripping has come to fore from the investigation.
6.In view thereof, this Court finds no ground to enlarge the accused applicant on anticipatory bail.
7. Therefore, the present anticipatory bail application is rejected.
8. However, it is provided that if the accused-applicant surrenders before the concerned trial court within ten days from today and applies for bail, his bail application shall be considered and decided expeditiously in accordance with law. The trial court shall also consider the age of the accused applicant and other arguments advanced on behalf of the accused applicant while he presses the regular bail application.
Order Date :- 21.2.2023 Arun K. Singh