SBI loan fraud: SC permits bank to respond to reply of private firm chairperson accused of fraud
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has permitted SBI to file a rejoinder to the reply of Suman Vijay Gupta, a citizen of the Dominican Republic and chairperson of a Mumbai-based private company, who was stopped from travelling to the UAE because of a case in which she is accused of defrauding the bank of Rs 3,300 crore.
The top court had on March 16 taken up for urgent hearing the appeal of the State Bank of India against a Bombay High Court order permitting Gupta, the chairperson of Ushdev International Limited (UIL), to travel abroad on furnishing a personal undertaking that she will come back to face legal proceedings here.
"The Solicitor General (Tushar Mehta) submits that the applicant (Gupta) who took up the citizenship of the Dominican Republic after the declaration of her account as Non Performing Asset (NPA), has been permitted to travel by the impugned orders dated March 10, and 14 March 2023 of a Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay...
"Pending further orders, there shall be a stay of the operation of the impugned orders...," a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said on March 16.
On Thursday, the bench, also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala, took up the plea of SBI for hearing and was urged by lawyer Sandeep Kapur, appearing for Gupta, that she has filed her reply to the bank's plea and she be permitted to go abroad.
The lawyer said the Bombay High Court rightly permitted Gupta to travel abroad.
The solicitor general, appearing for the bank, opposed the plea saying he may be permitted to file a rejoinder to Gupta's reply.
"The State Bank India is permitted to file its rejoinder affidavit, if need be. List the Special Leave Petitions on April 14," the bench said.
Earlier, the top court, while staying the Bombay High Court order, had taken note of the submissions of the top law officer that the law enforcement agencies have had a bad experience allowing economic offenders and fraudsters to go abroad on personal undertakings as they seldom honour them and come back to face legal proceedings.
"She is the chairperson of a company which took a loan of Rs 3,300 crore. The CBI is investigating (the case). After the loan was declared an NPA (non-performing asset), she renounced the citizenship of India and got the citizenship of Dominica," the top law officer had said.
A look out circular (LOC) was issued and she was prevented from travelling, he had told the court, adding the Bombay High Court said will let her go if she filed an undertaking stating that she will return to face legal proceedings in the case against her.
"We have a very bad experience with the undertakings," Mehta had said.
Mehta had said insolvency proceedings were initiated against UIL after the fraud was detected and the CBI later registered a case against Gupta, who relinquished her Indian citizenship and became a Commonwealth of Dominica citizen while residing in the UAE.
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All opposition leaders will be in jail if BJP wins LS polls: Kejriwal
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that all opposition leaders, including his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and RJD leader Tejashvi Yadav, will be in jail if the BJP wins the Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing his party workers at the AAP headquarters here, Kejriwal asserted the BJP will not return to power and said the INDIA bloc will form the government on June 4.
“In last 20 hours after release from jail, I talked to poll experts and people and got to know the BJP is not going to form the government,” said Kejriwal.
“The AAP will be part of the government at the Centre. We will get full statehood for Delhi,” he added.
Kejriwal charged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is asking for votes for Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“These people ask INDIA bloc about their face. I ask BJP who will be their PM? Modi ji is turning 75 on September 17 next year. He had made the rule that people aged 75 will be retired. They retired LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sumitra Mahajan,” said Kejriwal.
“He will retire next year. He is seeking votes for making Amit Shah the prime minister. Will Shah fulfill Modiji”s guarantee?” he asked.
Kejriwal also claimed that if the BJP comes to power, the party will change Uttar Pradesh chief minister within two months.
While Kejriwal was in jail, the BJP had demanded his resignation.
Talking about why he did not resign, he said, “The chief minister’s post is not important for me. I did not step down as the chief minister because a conspiracy was hatched to force me to resign on a fake case.” Kejriwal in a scathing attack on the BJP said all “thieves and dacoits” are inducted by the party.
“If the prime minister wants to learn about fighting corruption, he should learn from Arvind Kejriwal. We sent corrupt to jail and even our own ministers,” he added.
The chief minister also alleged that the “prime minister has left no stone unturned to crush the AAP by sending its four top leaders to jail”.
