BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday stayed criminal proceedings being investigated by the CID against Mantri Developers Private Limited, its director Sushil P Mantri, and his son and former director Prateek Mantri. Justice M Nagaprasanna stayed the proceedings after hearing the petition filed by Sushil and Prateek Mantri. The charges was registered by Cubbon Park police in response to a complaint filed by Anil Kumar, a home buyer of Mantri Webcity Project, on March 19, 2022, and was later transferred to CID.
The petitioners approached the High Court, challenging the charges registered against them, including cheating. Offences under Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act (BUDS Act) were also invoked against them, and investigation was under way. Sushil and Prateek Mantri were arrested at their Mantri Altius residence on Raj Bhavan Road on September 9, by a CID team.
The petitioners contended that there was a stay on the identical charges already registered by the customers for allegedly not giving possession of apartment units in Mantri Webcity Project. It was brought to the notice of the CID sleuths, but they did not consider it and arrested them, they claimed.
Their petition stated that the project had suffered a lag due to several reasons, including the pandemic and slump in the real estate market. Though the project has around 2,000 customers, a handful of them had started to bring coercive pressure on the promoters by demanding huge interest, compensation and extra benefits on account of the delay. The petitioners claimed that a few customers who had not even booked flats were trying to extort money, and when their illegal demands were dismissed, they had provoked some customers to file false complaints before RERA.