SC notice to Centre, CBI on plea of ex-banker duped of Rs 23 Cr in 'digital arrest'
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre, the CBI and others on a plea filed by a 78-year-old retired banker who was duped of Rs 23 crore after allegedly being put under "digital arrest" for nearly a month.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has issued notices to the Union of India, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and others on the plea filed by Naresh Malhotra.
The plea has sought directions to the banks involved to deposit the defrauded amount of Rs 22.92 crore in the petitioner's accounts.
Malhotra has made the Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Indus Ind Bank, City Union Bank and Yes Bank parties to the case.
Cyber fraudsters posing as Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI officials duped the retired banker from south Delhi's Gulmohar Park area of Rs 23 crore by allegedly putting him under "digital arrest" for nearly a month.
The accused allegedly told the victim that his Aadhaar card was involved in narcotics trafficking, terror funding and the Pulwama terror attack, and confined him to his flat under the pretext of investigation, an officer said.
"The scammers directed him not to step out of his house and coerced him into transferring his savings to various bank accounts over a span of a month," police said.
According to police, the victim has stated in his complaint that the ordeal began on August 4 last year, when he received a call from a man claiming to be a Mumbai Police officer.
The caller accused him of being linked to a drug-trafficking racket.
Subsequently, fraudsters impersonating ED and CBI officials also contacted him.
"Out of fear, the victim complied with their instructions and kept transferring money from his bank accounts to the accounts specified by the fraudsters. The accused also threatened the victim of dire consequences if he revealed the matter to anyone," police added.
Realising that he was duped, Malhotra got a complaint lodged on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) on September 19 last year, following which the matter was transferred to the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit.
Police had said an FIR was registered and Rs 12.11 crore of the cheated amount were frozen in various bank accounts.
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Can't say when I'll return to India; legally barred from leaving UK: Mallya to Bombay HC
Mumbai (PTI): Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, facing multiple cases of fraud and money laundering, told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that he cannot say when he will return to India as he is legally barred from leaving the UK.
In a statement submitted through his counsel Amit Desai to the high court, Mallya said he did not have an active passport after it was revoked and hence, he cannot give a definite date of return to India.
The statement was submitted after a bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad made it clear last week that it would not hear Mallya's plea against the order declaring a fugitive economic offender until he returns to India.
The court had then asked the former liquor to clarify whether or not he intended to return to India.
Mallya, based in the United Kingdom since 2016, has filed two petitions in the HC -- one challenging an order declaring him a fugitive economic offender and the other questioning the constitutional validity of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
The 70-year-old liquor baron is accused of defaulting on multiple loan repayments of several thousand crores and facing money laundering charges.
The businessman, in his statement to HC, said he cannot give a definite date for his return as he does not have his Indian passport, which was revoked by the government in 2016, and also because there are orders of courts in England and Wales that prohibit him from leaving the country.
"Mallya is not permitted to leave or attempt to leave England and Wales or apply for or be in possession of any international travel document. In any event, the petitioner is unable to precisely state when he will return to India," Desai read out the statement in the court.
The senior counsel reiterated that Mallya's presence was not required in the country for the court to hear his pleas against the fugitive tag and the provisions of the Act.
"If he (Mallya) were to appear in India, then all these proceedings would be rendered irrelevant as the statute says that once the offender appears in the concerned court of law, then all these orders would be set aside," Desai told the court.
The bench directed the Union government to file its reply to Mallya's statement and posted the matter for further hearing next month.
Mallya was declared a Fugitive Economic Offender in January 2019 by a special court hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The businessman left India in March 2016.
