Delhi: Ex-official accused of fraud denied bail

Delhi High Court denies bail to ex-bureaucrat Neh Srivastav, accused of defrauding 556 homebuyers of ₹120 crore in a housing project scam.

The Delhi High Court has denied bail to a former bureaucrat accused of cheating over 500 homebuyers by inducing them to invest nearly ₹120 crore in a housing project in Dwarka, describing the matter as a classic case of “deep-rooted economic offence” marked by deliberate “planning, deception, and abuse of trust”.

A bench of justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that Neh Srivastav allegedly misused his official position, projected false credentials, and orchestrated a network of entities to siphon off public funds. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A bench of justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, in a March 27 order, released later, observed that Neh Srivastav, who earlier served as an undersecretary in the Union home ministry, allegedly misused his official position, projected false credentials, and orchestrated a network of entities to siphon off public funds.

“In the considered view of this court, the present case is a classic example of a deep-rooted economic offence executed with planning, deception, and abuse of trust, wherein the applicant is alleged to have misused his position, projected false credentials, and orchestrated a network of entities to siphon public money,” justice Sharma said in her 12-page order.

The court noted that the scale of the alleged fraud – involving the hard-earned savings of 556 homebuyers who were induced to invest ₹119.86 crore – squarely fell within the category of serious economic offences, as it directly affected public confidence and undermined the integrity of financial transactions.

She added, “The magnitude of the alleged fraud, involving the hard-earned savings of numerous individuals, clearly falls within the ambit of serious economic offences, having a direct bearing on public confidence and the integrity of financial transactions.”

The case arose from a first information report (FIR) registered by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) after a complainant alleged he was induced by office bearers of the Central Secretariat Services Officers Society (CSSOS), including Srivastav as its president, to invest in a proposed residential project in Dwarka on the promise of flat allotment. He paid ₹50,000 as a membership fee.

A subsequent inquiry with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) revealed that no such society was registered and that no approvals were in place. The investigation found that multiple victims were similarly misled, with CSSOS falsely portraying itself as government-backed and collecting funds that were allegedly siphoned off.

Srivastav was arrested on November 6, 2022.

Srivastav’s lawyer argued he was falsely implicated, that there was no material to establish his involvement, and that EOW’s case was primarily based on the statements of alleged victims that remain uncorroborated by independent evidence. He added that decisions of CSSOS were taken collectively.

The EOW’s lawyer opposed bail, arguing the case disclosed a grave, large-scale economic offence involving a multi-victim fraud affecting the public at large, with Srivastav as the main kingpin who misused his official position to falsely project CSSOS as a government-backed entity.