Builder Deepak Kulkarni (70 of the DSK Developers has sought bail from the Bombay High Court citing old age amidst the pandemic and that he has spent 3.5 years behind bars, which is nearly half of the 7-year sentence if found guilty.
Kulkarni and his wife were arrested on February 17, 2018, for allegedly duping investors to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore.
His bail application was heard before Justice PD Naik on Friday.
Aashuutosh Srivastava, advocate for Kulkarni, argued that Kulkarni has been in prison since his arrest and the trial has not commenced as yet. “Considering the age of the applicant (Kulkarni), he should be granted bail especially in view of this pandemic,” argued Srivastava.
The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) had filed chargesheet in the case in May 2018 before the special court under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act [MPID Act]. Even the supplementary chargesheet was filed in August 2918.
However, the charges have not been framed and trial has also not commenced. “The MPID court rejected Kulkarni’s bail application in November 2019 stating that the trial was to commence as soon as possible and hence there was no need to release him on bail,” argued Srivastava.
Srivastava also pointed out that according to the EOW, Kulkarni had to repay Rs 2,081 crore to investors. Of this, Rs 1,997 crore has already been repaid.
The EOW and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have already attached all movable and immovable properties of Kulkarni and his wife which are valued at Rs 430 crore. In addition, bank accounts having a balance of Rs 4.31 crore have been frozen. Other properties like LIC policies, luxury cars and FDs are also attached.
“Rs 430 crore is based on government valuation or amount taken at agreement value, i.e. when the property was purchased. Current market value of the attached properties will be 3-4 times this value. Some attachment of the properties are more than the outstanding liabilities,” argued Srivastava.
On a court query, Srivastava said that Forensic Audit Report was still awaited which will give a proper valuation of the attached properties based on market rate.
Kulkarni has been charged with various sections under the Indian Penal Code and MPID Act, the maximum punishment for which, if found guilty, is seven years of imprisonment. Kulkarni has been in jail since his arrest, which is nearly half the imprisonment sentence, if found guilty
Srivastava said: “The courts have said that an undertrial prisoner can't be detained indefinitely if the trial doesn’t commence. Here age is also the factor as he is 74-years-old.”
The Public Prosecutor opposed the bail plea saying that there was misappropriation of funds to the tune of over Rs 2,000 crore. Also, a false affidavit was filed saying that the money will be coming from Singapore, which never happened. This was cheating the investors.
The prosecutor said that the MPID court was to frame charges in the coming week. “There was a delay as the special judge was hospitalised due to Covid,” said the prosecutor.
The prosecution will be examining a maximum 17 witnesses of the list of 23 witnesses submitted before the MPID court.
The HC has reserved the bail plea for order.
