Supreme Court sought responses from Centre, Telangana, CBI, ED and SFIO on a plea seeking independent probe into alleged multi-crore corporate fraud involving collusion with authorities and a figure. The bench issued notices to Union ministries after hearing submissions.
The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) on Vijayraj Surana’s plea seeking relaxation of his bail conditions in a ₹10,000 crore financial fraud case. The top court had earlier granted him bail, noting that prolonged detention before trial amounts to “punishment without conviction.”
Chanda Kochhar, former CEO of ICICI Bank, has petitioned the Bombay High Court to limit interrogations by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to office hours in the Videocon loan fraud case. Her plea, referencing similar adjustments by the Enforcement Directorate, addresses concerns over late-night questioning affecting personal rights. The Court will review this issue further on November 27.
Businessman Deepak Kochhar has petitioned the Bombay High Court to limit SFIO interrogations to office hours, following a lengthy questioning session in the Videocon-ICICI loan fraud case. The court granted interim relief, preventing coercive action and citing a recent ED circular advising similar guidelines. Kochhar’s plea underscores the importance of respecting basic rights during investigations.
The Allahabad High Court scrutinized the Enforcement Directorate, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, and Uttar Pradesh’s Economic Offences Wing for their inadequate investigation into the ‘Shine-City’ scam. The Court instructed the agencies to conduct a proper probe, admonishing their lackadaisical approach. The Ministry of External Affairs was asked to provide a detailed affidavit on the status of the extradition of the fugitive accused.
The Karnataka High Court dismissed SFIO’s case against Vijay Mallya and Captain R. Gopinath, citing lack of jurisdiction under the Companies Act, 2013 to retrospectively apply to offenses under the Companies Act, 1956. The court emphasized proper approval of the merger, preventing fraud allegations from being revisited through criminal prosecution.
The Bombay High Court Today questioned the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) about the basis for downgrading a lookout circular against a woman linked to a 2019 fraud case. The court sought evidence of the legal provisions permitting this action. The matter has been adjourned for further deliberation. The SFIO must provide the lookout circular at the next hearing.