VVIP chopper case: Delhi HC junks ED plea to revoke Rajiv Saxena’s pardon

The Dubai-based businessman was extradited to India on January 31 last year in connection with the Rs 3,600-crore alleged scam related to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) plea seeking revocation of the pardon granted to businessmen and accused-turned-approver Rajiv Saxena in AgustaWestland chopper deal case. Justice C. Hari Shankar, upholding Saxena approver status, said, “Resultantly, I find myself in agreement with the view, expressed by the learned Special Judge, that, before the recording of his statement under Section 306 (4) of the Cr PC, the application, of the petitioner (ED), as preferred before him, was not maintainable.”

The court noted that a preliminary objection had been advanced by Saxena’s counsel RK Handoo that the CrPC does not contemplate “revocation of pardon”. Handoo has said that pardon, once granted, can neither be revoked nor withdrawn or cancelled.ALSO READ: AgustaWestland case: CBI court lets ED further interrogate Christian Michel

“Strictly speaking, this contention may be correct; however, certain judicial decisions have referred to revocation of pardon, once tendered under Section 306 of the Cr PC, following the issuance of certificate, by the Public Prosecutor under Section 308 (1). Interestingly, Ratanlal and Dhirajlal, too, in their “The Code of Criminal Procedure” – which has, with the passage of time, become a classic of sorts – specifically refer to “revocation of pardon”. In any event, the impugned order, dated 5th March, 2020, does not reject the application, of the petitioner, on the ground that no concept of “revocation of pardon” exists in law, but proceeds to hold that the application was not maintainable, as no statement, of the respondent, had been recorded, before moving the application,” the court said…Read More

CBI court sends P Chidambaram to custody till August 26 in INX media case

He was produced before the special CBI court around 3 pm on Thursday, where a courtroom packed with advocates, mediapersons, and law interns awaited him

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday sent former finance minister P Chidambaram to the agency’s custody for four days in the case related to alleged discrepancies in Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approvals for INX Media’s proposals.

Chidambaram will be in CBI custody till August 26, when he will be produced again before court, the lower court judge said. After a hearing that lasted nearly two hours, the special CBI judge ordered the former union minister be medically examined every 48 hours while in custody. Family members as well as Chidambaram’s counsel have also been allowed to meet him daily for 30 minutes, the court said in its order.

“It is impressed upon the investigating agency that it will ensure that the personal dignity of the accused is not violated in any manner,” the court said. On Wednesday evening, Chidambaram surfaced at the Congress headquarters to address the media after a day of courtroom drama and claims by probe agencies that he was evading arrest.

Aarushi-Hemraj murder case: SC admits CBI’s plea against Talwars’ acquittal

A bench headed by Justices Ranjan Gogoi said the CBI’s appeal would be heard along with Hemraj’s wife’s pending petition

The Supreme Court today agreed to hear the CBI’s appeal challenging the acquittal of dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the 2008 twin murder case of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj.

A bench headed by Justices Ranjan Gogoi said the CBI’s appeal would be heard along with Hemraj’s wife’s pending petition, which has also challenged the acquittal of the Talwars by the Allahabad High Court on October 12 last year.

Aarushi-Hemraj murder case

“Leave granted,” the bench, also comprising Justices Navin Sinha and K M Joseph, said.

Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, representing the CBI, referred to the plea filed by Hemraj’s wife’s. The bench said CBI’s appeal would be tagged with it.

Fourteen-year-old Aarushi was found dead inside her room in the Talwars’ Noida residence with her throat slit in May 2008. The needle of suspicion had initially moved towards 45-year-old Hemraj, who had gone missing, but his body was recovered from the terrace of the house two days later.

A CBI court at Ghaziabad sentenced the Talwars to life imprisonment on November 26, 2013 in connection with the case.

Article source : BS

Nirav Modi scam: PNB Ex-MD knew it all, could have averted Rs 130-bn fraud

In its 12,000-page charge sheet, CBI claims that Usha Ananthasubramanian and some other senior bank officials were aware about Nirav Modi's fraudulent dealings, but kept misleading RBI

Former Punjab National Bank (PNB) managing director and chief executing Usha Ananthasubramanian and other senior bank officials had been aware of diamond merchant Nirav Modi's "fraudulent" dealings but kept "misleading" the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged in its 12,000-page charge sheet.

A special CBI court took cognizance of the charge sheet on Monday and permitted the investigating agency to issue fresh non-bailable warrants against Nirav Modi, his brother Nishal and Subhash Parab, an executive of the Nirav Modi Group.

In its charge sheet into the nearly Rs 130-billion scam, the CBI said the RBI had since October 2016 sent several questionnaires to the PNB, seeking to know what procedures or measures the bank follows before issuing Letters of Understandings and Letters of Credit.

"This was duly dealt by accused Ananthasubramanian and the bank's Executive Directors - K V Brahmaji Rao, Sanjiv Sharan and Nehal Ahad and instead of replying to the queries in true spirit and facts, Ahad and the general manager of the International Banking Division of the bank's headquarters prepared a misleading reply and sent it to the RBI after getting the same approved from Sharan," the CBI said.

The 12,000-page charge sheet further claimed that a similar fraud was detected in 2016 following which the RBI took up the issue and issued circulars to all banks.

"The accused PNB officials, including Ananthasubramanian and others, were aware of this fraud involving PNB Dubai and the Indian Overseas Bank Chandigarh and yet they did not take any corrective action and remained silent spectators. This facilitated continuance of the fraud resulting in wrongful loss to the PNB," it said.

From August 2015 to May 2017, when Ananthasubramanian was the MD and CEO of the PNB, relevant circulars, caution notices and urgent questionnaires issued by the RBI were brought to her notice and she dealt with the same, the CBI said.

"Inspite of her knowledge about the modus operandi in these frauds, she (Ananthasubramanian) did not take any meaningful corrective measures in her capacity as the executive head of the bank and had unauthorizedly delegated the RBI guidelines work to her subordinates without any follow up action," the charge sheet said.

The CBI has further claimed that senior officers from the Nirav Modi Group including accused Vipul Ambani were constantly meeting Ananthasubramanian in order to continue with the credit facilities to the group.

"This indicated clearly that she (Ananthasubramanian) was aware of the facilities extended to the various group entities of Modi," it said.

The agency said the accused bank officials held supervisory roles in the bank and had through their acts facilitated the issuance of the fraudulent LOUs.

"The fact that bank official Gokulnath Shetty continued to issue fraudulent LOUs with impunity despite issuance of several RBI circulars indicates an environment of protection he enjoyed in the form of lack of reconciliation and absence of bank visits by seniors," the CBI said.

The patronage extended by the senior officials of the bank to the accused persons working in the PNB Brady House branch of Mumbai resulted in a huge wrongful loss to the bank and wrongful gain to the accused persons, it said.

"MD and CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian and other senior bank officials by failing to take any precautions or preventive steps to prevent the fraud perpetrated by firms controlled by Nirav Modi thereby committed criminal misconduct in conspiracy with the other accused persons," CBI alleged.

Read Full Source: Nirav Modi Scam At PNB