A Delhi court on Friday extended the interim bail to R K Arora, the chairman and promoter of realty major Supertech Group, in a money laundering case by a month on medical grounds.
Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala extended the relief noting that the genuineness of the medical reports submitted by his lawyer was not disputed.
The relief was granted on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties of the like amount.
“I am of the considered opinion that it shall be in the interest of justice, if the interim bail on medical and health ground granted to the applicant/accused Ram Kishor Arora granted vide order dated January 16, 2024 is further extended for a period of 30 days,” the judge said.
The judge rejected the Enforcement Directorate’s argument that the accused can tamper with evidence and extend threats to home buyers if he remains out on interim bail any further, noting that the central probe agency has already filed its charge sheet after completion of investigation against him.
“The applicant is in custody since June 27, 2023. No instance of misuse of the interim bail granted vide order dated January 16, 2024, by the accused is reported by the ED. In the absence of any proof of misuse of interim bail by the applicant, the contention raised on behalf of ED is baseless. The medical report and continued medical treatment record from the date of release on interim medical bail till filing of present application is also sufficient to rebut the contentions of misuse raised by the ED,” the judge said.
The judge directed Arora to not leave the National Capital Territory of Delhi or the country without prior permission of the court and ordered him to surrender his passport to it.
“The applicant shall not tamper with evidence nor otherwise indulge in any act or omission that is unlawful or that would prejudice the proceedings in the pending matter. The applicant will not use the liberty of interim bail for any other purpose except for better medical treatment/surgery, better nursing care and nutritional care,” the judge said.
The judge directed Arora to share his mobile phone number with the investigating officer and asked him to keep it active and switched on at all times.
“The applicant will share his live location daily in the morning and evening with the Investigating Officer. The applicant/accused shall not operate any bank account of the accused companies,” the judge added.
Arora had sought the extension of his interim bail by three months.
He was arrested on June 27, 2023 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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The money laundering case against the Supertech Group, its directors and promoters stems from a clutch of FIRs registered by police in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
The Enforcement Directorate has been probing 26 FIRs registered by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh police against Supertech Ltd and its group companies for alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust and forgery. They have been accused of defrauding at least 670 homebuyers of Rs 164 crore.
According to the charge sheet, the company and its directors hatched a “criminal conspiracy” to cheat people by collecting funds from prospective home buyers in advance against flats booked in their real estate projects.
The company did not adhere to the agreed obligation of providing possession of the flats in time and “defrauded” the general public, the agency has said.
The Supertech Group also defaulted on payment to banks and financial institutions, in the process rendering around Rs 1,500 crore of such loans non-performing assets, the agency said.
