Mumbai: Senior citizen and businessman Kiran Temkar (65) has approached the Bombay High Court seeking transfer of investigation into the alleged Rs 58 crore embezzlement at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI), citing inaction by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) despite a lapse of nearly five years since registration of the case.
Petition Before High Court
Temkar, who is into export business, has been a member of NSCI for over four decades. In his petition, he has urged the court to transfer the probe to either the Crime Branch or an independent agency, or a Special Investigation Team (SIT). Alternatively, he has sought a status report from the police on the progress of the investigation.
Audit Findings
The case stems from allegations of mismanagement and misappropriation of funds between April 2013 and March 2018 by members of NSCI’s managing committee. Following demands from members, a forensic audit was conducted by KPMG.
On June 22, 2019, KPMG submitted its report, codenamed ‘Project Elite’, flagging inflated invoices, fake contractors and irregular tenders, which allegedly led to large-scale siphoning of funds.
Vendors Under Scrutiny
The plea contended that the KPMG report also exposed irregularities between 2014 and 2018, when six vendors were repeatedly awarded contracts for liaising and securing permissions for various activities of the club without any tendering process.
Despite lacking genuine business presence or offices at the addresses provided, these vendors continued to receive work orders and urgent payments on the instructions of senior office-bearers.
Role Of Office Bearers
The report noted that the signatures on invoices of two such vendors appeared similar. The decision to appoint them was taken by accused Jayantilal Shah and Rakesh Malhotra, along with Kartik Parmar, while the invoices were signed by then club functionaries including secretary Atul Maru, Kamlesh Taluja, Umaraomal Bharmecha, Mehul Shah, Dilip Vardhan and Parmar. This arrangement, the audit concluded, caused a wrongful loss of Rs6.9 crore to the club, it alleged.
FIR & Probe
Subsequently, on December 11, 2020, Tardeo police registered FIR No. 296 of 2020 against Jayantilal Shah, Rakesh Malhotra, Sebastian Paul, Bhisham Sahjwani and others under cheating and forgery provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The case was later renumbered as Crime No. 48 of 2020 and transferred to the EOW, after the alleged fraud was pegged at Rs 58 crore.
Lack Of Action Alleged
According to Temkar’s plea, despite repeated emails and letters in July and August this year requesting that his statement be recorded and seeking updates, the EOW has neither filed a chargesheet nor taken concrete steps. On August 13, 2025, he also wrote to the deputy commissioner of police (EOW), but to no avail.
Accused Shielded?
The petition alleges that several persons whose signatures appear on inflated invoices and vouchers have been shielded from investigation. It also warns that the extent of siphoning could be much higher since several documents were withheld from KPMG auditors.
The plea further claims that many of the accused or their proxies continue to hold key posts in NSCI’s executive and regional committees, thereby risking further financial losses.
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Club At Risk
With nearly 19,000 members, NSCI is governed by a 60-member Central Council, split between Mumbai and Delhi. Temkar argues that the club is now on the verge of bankruptcy due to mismanagement and the police’s inaction. The matter is expected to come up for hearing later this week.
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