[Canara Bank Fraud Case] Delhi Court Acquits 9 People Of Rs 4.8 Crore Scam, Cites CBI’s ‘casual’ Probe

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Special Judge Hasan Anzar acquitted Harpreet Fashion Pvt. Ltd., along with Mohanjit Singh Mutneja, Gunjit Singh Mutneja, Harpreet Kaur Mutneja, Harmendra Singh, Raman Kumar Agarwal, Darwan Singh Mehta, TC Purshottam, and CT Ramkumar. Four of these individuals were bank employees.

[Canara Bank Fraud Case] Delhi Court Acquits 9 people in Rs 4.8 crore Scam, Cites CBI’s ‘casual’ Probe

New Delhi (India): On June 11th: Nine years after the trial began, Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court has acquitted nine individuals, including one company and four bank officials, in a corruption case, citing the “casual” manner of the investigation conducted by the agency.

The case involved an alleged fraud of Rs 4.8 crore against Canara Bank. It was registered in 2011, with the trial commencing in 2015.

Special Judge Hasan Anzar acquitted Harpreet Fashion Pvt. Ltd., along with Mohanjit Singh Mutneja, Gunjit Singh Mutneja, Harpreet Kaur Mutneja, Harmendra Singh, Raman Kumar Agarwal, Darwan Singh Mehta, TC Purshottam, and CT Ramkumar. Four of these individuals were bank employees.

In an order dated June 3, Special Judge Hasan Anzar of the Rouse Avenue Courts stated,

“The prosecution has not examined or analyzed the bank accounts, statements of accounts, balance sheets, or relevant income tax returns of the sister companies to determine whether any activity was conducted following the payments made by A-1/Harpreet Fashion.”

The judge criticized the CBI for not investigating the final balance sheet of the company, which would have provided clarity, and for offering a weak explanation that the bank did not supply proper documents. Additionally, the court highlighted that Harpreet Fashion was established only in March 2004, despite the prosecution’s claims of conspiracies beginning in 2003.

The court noted that the prosecution did not prove that Harpreet Fashion, Mohanjit Singh Mutneja, and Harpreet Kaur Mutneja, in conspiracy with Gunjit Singh Mutneja and Harmendra Singh, committed any offence of cheating.

According to the CBI chargesheet, between 2003 and 2007, the accused, including four bank employees, engaged in four conspiracies to defraud the bank. The CBI had alleged Funds from 47 cheques were allegedly diverted to sister companies of Harpreet Fashion, the main accused, which had been granted a loan by the bank.

The court noted,

“Surprisingly, the altered airway bill was not sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for analysis, and key witnesses regarding the custody of the airway bill, such as Customs and the Airlines, were not examined during the trial.”

Referring to three overdue airway bills cited by the CBI, the court added that the CBI withheld crucial witnesses from the proceedings.

The court found no evidence to prove that the bank employees were in direct contact with the other five accused for non-business purposes. It also noted the CBI’s failure to send an altered airway bill for forensic analysis and the omission of critical witnesses, such as those from Customs and the Airlines, during the trial.

Moreover, the court pointed out the CBI’s inadequate investigation into the roles of the bank’s circle office and head office, which continued to grant credit extensions to Harpreet Fashion despite its poor financial condition, and ultimately acquitted the accused of criminal conspiracy due to insufficient evidence.