BENGALURU: The High Court has rejected a batch of 10 bail petitions of a managing director of the city-based firm that allegedly cheated several people. The firm is said to have collected money from people in return for a promise that they would be provided with residential sites.
Hearing arguments of the counsel of accused and government pleader, Justice A V Chandrashekara rejected the bail petitions of Ashwak Ahmed aka Althaf, Managing Director of Granity Properties Private Limited in Indiranagar recently.
While rejecting the petitions, Justice Chandrashekara observed that the prosecution in its case had said that Ashwak had collected about Rs 8 crore from the persons.
He then failed to comply with the undertaking given by him to this court on an earlier occasion. Justice Chandrashekara said that another undertaking given by him in these petitions could not be believed and accepted.
“Violation of an earlier undertaking given by him would disentitle him to get bail from this court at this stage. Accordingly, these bail petitions are rejected. However, liberty is granted to the accused to revive his request for bail, after depositing at least Rs 8 crore before the Registry of this court, since the total amount would be more than Rs 16 crore including the accrued interest,” Justice Chandrashekara said.
Ashwak had collected the money and did not provide the people with the sites nor returned the amount to them.
The investors had filed separate complaints before the Ashok Nagar Police Station and further investigation was entrusted to the City Crime Branch (CCB).
The counsel of the accused said an interim bail of at least four months would enable Ashwak to make an honest endeavour to sell immovable property and return the money to all the persons.
Government Pleader B Visweswaraiah opposed the bail application on the ground that on an earlier occasion, the accused had approached the court by filing a petition seeking to quash the FIRs registered against him. They were dismissed by the High Court.
“In these petitions too, Ashwak had given an undertaking that he would pay the amount to the investors and he had been given four months to comply with the undertaking,” Visweswaraiah argued.
Case history
On the basis of the complaint lodged by several investors, cases were registered against Ashwak Ahmed aka Althaf, 44 years, for the offence punishable under Section 420 of the IPC and Section 192 (A) (5) and 192 (B) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, in 2011, for breach of trust and cheating. He is in judicial custody at Central Prison in Parappana Agrahara. 10 cases were registered against him, which include nine cases in Ashok Nagar Police Station and one in Ramamurthy Nagar Police Station in 2011.
Contents of Ashwak’s Undertaking:
About 120 cases were registered against him by his customers. “The amount due by me to customers is approximately Rs 7 crore. If bail is granted, I will pay all the money within 6 months from the date of release,” he said. He undertook to initially reimburse Rs 5 crore within 2 months by disposing of his property in K R Puram.