HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Thursday imposed a penalty of Rs 5 crore for repeatedly filing petitions on an issue already settled by the Supreme Court in connection with an alleged investment fraud case.
Taking serious exception to what it termed an attempt to mislead the court, the High Court observed that the Supreme Court had already granted permission to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to auction properties belonging to the Heera Group. Despite this, the group and its director continued to approach the High Court with fresh petitions challenging the same issue.
Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka of the Telangana High Court expressed strong displeasure over the conduct of the petitioners and held that filing repetitive and misleading pleas amounted to an abuse of the judicial process. As a consequence, the court directed the Heera Group and Nowhera Shaik to pay a penalty of Rs 5 crore, to be deposited in the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund within eight weeks. The court dismissed the petition accordingly.
As per the directions of the Supreme Court, the Enforcement Directorate has initiated the process of auctioning 59 immovable properties belonging to the Heera Group. The properties have been listed for online auction through the Metal Scrap Trade Corporation (MSTC) Limited web portal, and the auction is scheduled to be held on the 26th of this month.