CBI court accepts prima facie case in ₹87-crore PNB fraud case, summons 16 accused

Special judge Dr J P Darekar observed that the prosecution had placed sufficient material on record to proceed with the case

MUMBAI: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Saturday took cognisance of a charge sheet filed by the agency in connection with an alleged ₹87.46-crore fraud against Punjab National Bank (PNB) involving Siddhi Vinayak Logistics Ltd, its directors and others. The court issued summons to 16 accused, including company executives and bank officials.

Gavel and law books (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Special judge Dr J P Darekar observed that the prosecution had placed sufficient material on record to proceed with the case. “There is oral as well as documentary evidence collected by the investigating officer. There is sufficient material to substantiate the allegations against the accused persons,” the court said while taking cognisance of offences relating to criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code, along with criminal misconduct by public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court further held that the prosecution had prima facie made out a case to substantiate the charges against the accused persons, which was “well founded”. “Therefore, prima facie the case is made out to proceed against accused persons with sufficient material,” the order said, directing that summons be issued to the accused to appear before the court.

Those summoned include Siddhi Vinayak Logistics Ltd, its managing director and guarantor Roopchand Sujanmal Baid, and directors Deepak Kumar Baid, Raj Kumar Baid and Laxmi Devi Baid. The court also issued summons to individuals associated with linked entities such as Addplus Distributors Pvt Ltd and Transport Solutions India Pvt Ltd.

Three PNB officials have also been summoned to face prosecution for offences under the anti-corruption law in addition to IPC offences: Vinod Chakradhar Joshi, then deputy general manager and circle head; Pradeep Kumar B Varun, then assistant general manager and branch head; and Rajendra Kumar Ameer Chand Jain, then chief manager.

According to the charge sheet, the CBI registered the case on December 20, 2022, based on a complaint dated March 31, 2021, lodged by an assistant general manager of PNB’s Zonal Sastra Centre in Mumbai. The agency alleged that between 2013 and 2017, the accused entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat the bank by obtaining a ₹100-crore term loan purportedly for the purchase of 335 commercial vehicles, including truck chassis and trailers.

Investigators alleged that the borrower company furnished details of only 240 vehicles and failed to provide documentation for the remaining 95. A verification exercise carried out by a chartered accountant found that only 221 vehicles were actually hypothecated to PNB, while one vehicle was hypothecated to State Bank of India and 10 vehicles were not charged to any bank.

The probe also found discrepancies in vehicles offered as collateral security and missing registration details for several vehicles, with investigators alleging that the irregularities caused a wrongful loss of ₹87.46 crore to the bank.

During the investigation, the CBI examined the role of five PNB officials involved in the processing, disbursal and monitoring of the loan account. The agency sought prior approval under the Prevention of Corruption Act from the bank, which declined permission in respect of two officials but granted approval for action against three others. Sanction for prosecution was subsequently granted against those three officials.

The charge sheet filed by the CBI lists 84 witnesses and more than 3,000 documents relied upon by the prosecution.