Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to builder and developer Deepak Sakharam Kulkarni (Director of DSK Group of Companies), who was arrested in 2018 for allegedly duping investors to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore.
A division bench of Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and J K Maheshwari granted bail to Kulkarni observing: “We are of the view that the petitioner be released on bail.”
The SC has asked the trial court in Pune, to decide on the bail conditions of. “Therefore, we direct the release of the petitioner on bail subject to the conditions to be imposed by the trial court,” said SC.
The SC was hearing an appeal filed by Kulkarni challenging the August 2021 order of the Bombay High Court rejecting is bail.
Kulkarni and his wife were arrested on February 17, 2018, for allegedly duping over 32,000 investors to the tune of Rs 2,043 crore. They were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act [MPID Act].
Kulkarni’s advocate, Aashutosh Srivastava, argued that the allegations made against him are vague and he has been falsely implicated in the alleged offence.
He further argued that Kulkarni has been incarcerated since his arrest in February 2018, and thus has spent over three years behind bars. The maximum punishment, if found guilty, in the alleged offence against Kulkarni if of five years. Hence he has served more than half of the sentence, argued Srivastava.
“Undertrials cannot indefinitely be detained pending trial. No person ought to suffer adverse consequences of his acts unless the same is established before a neutral arbiter,” added Srivastava.
Besides, the investigation is completed in the case and the chargesheet has been filed. All the properties have been already seized by the authorities and all the necessary documents and material evidences have already been procured by the investigating agencies and placed on records and there is nothing left to be recovered from him, added Srivastava.
Srivastava further pointed out that the trial has not yet commenced in the case.
This is the second case in which Kulkarni has procured bail. He has three other cases pending against him.
