Mumbai: Observing that the dignity of the court and majesty of the law must be maintained at all costs, the Bombay High Court recently cancelled the bail granted to a businessman, who had duped a Dadar-resident of over Rs. seven crores. The HC cancelled the bail as the businessman after enjoying bail for over four years, refused to abide by the undertaking, he had submitted before the court.
A single-judge bench fo Justice Sadhana Jadhav came down heavily on the conduct of Arunkumar Aggarwal and his wife Sunita, for wasting the courts time for more than two years.
The case pertained to the criminal case registered against Aggarwals for duping a person of over Rs. seven crores. The couple had urged the complainant to invest in their food catering business and promised 'lucrative' profits in return. However, the couple failed to pay any interest amounts which resulted in the FIR against them.
Accordingly, they were arrested in 2016 and they then approached the bench led by Justice Jadhav seeking bail. The bail was granted after the couple tendered a memorandum of understanding (MoU), wherein they had undertaken to pay Rs. 12 crore to the complainant in equal instalments of Rs. 50 lakh. However, the couple faulted in paying the amounts as promised and the complainant urged the HC to cancel the bail, granted to them.
Later on, they claimed that they never consented to the MoU and their signatures on it, were 'fraudulently' obtained.
The plea to cancel the bail granted to Aggarwals was being heard by Justice Jadhav since 2017 and throughout the hearings, advocate Subhash Jha, appearing for the Aggarwals kept on 'wasting' the court's time, by making lengthy submissions.
Having considered the conduct of the accused, Justice Jadhav said, “The independence of judiciary cannot be overshadowed by the counsel who attempts to take the courts for granted. Most of the times, it is seen that various modes are adopted for protracting the proceedings and there is no fear of the court.”
“The accused are seeking to resile from their undertaking after enjoying bail for four years. The same cannot be countenanced,” Justice Jadhav held.
“There is no doubt that disobedience (of accused) is willful and intentional. Valuable time of the court has been consumed in several proceedings. This court is of the firm opinion that the dignity of the court and majesty of law deserves to be maintained at all cost,” Justice Jadhav said while adding that the accused conduct amounts to an abuse of the court process.
