The Supreme Court has stayed criminal proceedings against Lalit Goyal of IREO Group and Vikas Oberoi of Oberoi Realty Limited, who face charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and forgery. A vacation bench issued the stay and notified the Haryana government while reviewing a challenge to the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has ordered a stay on criminal proceedings against Lalit Goyal, Managing Director of IREO Group, and Vikas Oberoi, Chairman and Managing Director of Oberoi Realty Limited. The allegations against them include cheating, criminal breach of trust, and forgery.
A vacation bench comprising Justices PV Sanjay Kumar and Augustine George Masih issued the order while hearing a plea challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court‘s decision. The bench also issued a notice to the Haryana government concerning the matter.
“The question of whether filing the second complaint constitutes an abuse of process and whether the complainant approached the court with unclean hands needs further examination. Issue a notice to the respondents. Meanwhile, further proceedings related to the FIR are stayed.”
-stated the bench.
This legal battle began when the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Goyal and Oberoi on June 6. Both the IREO and Oberoi groups subsequently filed a plea with the Supreme Court, seeking relief from the High Court’s order.
The Supreme Court’s decision to stay the proceedings brings temporary respite to Goyal and Oberoi, as the allegations have significant implications for both individuals and their respective companies. The accusations of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and forgery are serious and could impact the business operations and reputations of IREO Group and Oberoi Realty Limited.
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“Whether the filing of the second complaint constitutes an abuse of process and whether the complainant approached the court with unclean hands requires further examination. Issue a notice to the respondents. In the meantime, further proceedings related to the FIR are stayed.”
-the bench emphasized in its order.
The Supreme Court’s intervention is seen as a critical juncture in this high-profile case, highlighting the importance of judicial scrutiny in matters involving allegations of serious financial and ethical misconduct. The detailed examination of whether the second complaint constitutes an abuse of the legal process and the assessment of the complainant’s intentions are crucial aspects that the Supreme Court aims to address in its further hearings.
The chief judicial magistrate ordered the registration of an FIR at the DLF phase 2 police station following a complaint lodged by Advance India Projects Limited (AIPL). The complaint accuses IREO and Oberoi, both prominent realty groups, of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and forgery.
According to the FIR, IREO and Oberoi allegedly conspired to defraud investors who had invested in their projects since 2013. This not only deceived investors but also defrauded the AIPL Group. The complaint by AIPL details that the IREO Group embezzled approximately Rs.1,777 crore, transferring a significant portion of this money out of the country. Out of this, around Rs.1,376 crore was collected as advances from the allottees.
AIPL further alleged that IREO collected Rs.400 crore from about 70 allottees in the Grand Hyatt Residency Project located in sector 58, Chandigarh, as part of this embezzlement scheme. The complaint indicates that both investors and the AIPL group were victims of this deceit. AIPL had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IREO to complete the project and had made substantial progress to resolve ongoing litigation.
“After resolving various issues with the AIPL agreement, IREO entered into an agreement with another builder, Oberoi Group, in bad faith and in violation of the agreement’s terms and conditions. As a result, AIPL suffered a loss of thousands of crores of rupees.”
-stated the complainant in the FIR.
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The FIR lists that a case was registered against nine individuals under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including section 409 (criminal breach of trust), section 420 (cheating), section 467 (forgery of valuable security), section 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), section 471 (using a forged document), and section 120-B (criminal conspiracy).
