BENGALURU: A Special Court dismissed two applications filed by BJP leader CP Yogeshwar and three other accused seeking discharge from the case registered by Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in relation to a real estate project.
Upholding SFIO’s argument that unless the complainant/prosecution provides evidence before framing of charge, the Special Court Judge Ramachandra D Huddar dismissed the applications filed by Managing Director CP Yogeshwar, Megacity (Bengaluru) Developers and Builders Limited, Manju Kumari, Arun Charantimath and Sujata Charantimath.
“In criminal cases, procedural law cannot be overlooked or left out. Now, by filing these applications, the accused persons want them to be discharged by overtaking the stage of evidence before charge, which in the considered view of this Court is not at all maintainable,” the Special Court said.
However, the court asked the accused persons to put forward the plea of discharge before framing of charges but after prosecution records evidence.
On February 27 2012, the assistant director of SFIO filed the case against the accused. The court took cognizance of the mattered and summoned the accused, who in-turn appeared before the court through counsel. Now, they have filed applications for discharge.
“The applications filed at this stage are not at all tenable. Let the complainant/prosecution lead evidence before charge and accused have got opportunity to cross examine the witness, and if they bring before the Court that the grounds made out in the complaint and other documents are groundless, then they can seek discharge. Application filed by the accused were dismissed,” the Special Court said.
Case history
According to the prosecution, Megacity (Bengaluru) Developers and Builders Limited pronounced a real estate project named ‘Vajragiri’ without taking approval from the concerned department and had collected huge sums of money in respect of allotment of sites. It is alleged that the project did not materialize
and large number of investors’ money was not refunded.
Yogeshwar and Manju Kumari claimed that about 9,717 members enrolled themselves. Out of them 776 members never paid a single rupee as membership fee. There were 5,741 defaulters. 1300 members were allotted sites. Out of 1,900 fully paid members, 1,084 voluntarily took refund of the entire amount. “Thus, a false case has been registered against us,” they alleged.