HC grants bail to auditor arrested in PMC Bank fraud case

Former PMC Bank auditor Anita Kirdat granted bail by Bombay High Court in ₹6,670 crore fraud case. Allegations of negligence in overseeing practices linked to HDIL.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Wednesday granted bail to Anita Shankar Kirdat, the former auditor embroiled in the ₹6,670 crore fraud at Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank. Kirdat, who served as a concurrent auditor for PMC Bank from 2005 to 2019, faced allegations of negligence in overseeing fraudulent banking practices linked to Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), the bank’s major client.

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During the bail application hearing Kirdat’s counsel highlighted her extended detention, now surpassing four years and four months and emphasised her gender and the unlikely prospect of the trial reaching a conclusion in the near future.

A single-judge bench of justice M S Karnik emphasised the principles of a speedy trial and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. He cited similar bail orders in cases of prolonged detention, emphasising that individuals cannot be indefinitely incarcerated before trial.

On the opposing side, additional public prosecutor Sangeeta D Shinde argued against the bail, citing the severity of the economic offenses and Kirdat’s alleged failure to conduct thorough due diligence as an auditor. They also pointed out her close associations with key HDIL figures.

Of particular note was Kirdat’s connection to Waryam Singh, a prime accused in the case. Singh, the former chairman of PMC Bank, was granted bail by the same court on February 1, 2024. He was granted bail due to his poor health condition and the prolonged duration of his incarceration.

Justice Karnik has ordered Kirdat to be released on furnishing a personal bond of ₹1 lakh with one or two local sureties. The court has allowed her to be released on cash surety of ₹25,000 and granted her six weeks to furnish the sureties.

The decision to grant bail to Kirdat comes amidst ongoing investigations into the PMC Bank fraud case, which has significantly impacted the banking sector since its revelation in 2019.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police initiated legal action on September 30, 2019, against the PMC bank, which has 137 branches across six states.

As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) findings, PMC Bank concealed 44 problematic loan accounts amounting to ₹7,457.49 crore, primarily allocated to HDIL, through manipulation of its core banking system. These accounts were restricted to a select group of staff members. Additionally, the bank created 21,049 fictitious accounts to align its master data with loan disbursements.

In its chargesheet, the EOW accused the former PMC Bank chairman, Waryam Singh, who had previously served on the HDIL board, of close ties with HDIL promoter Rakesh Wadhawan. Allegedly, Singh, along with the bank’s managing director Joy Thomas and other accomplices including auditors, sanctioned loans to HDIL group companies without adhering to proper procedures or obtaining adequate security. This jeopardised the savings of approximately 12 lakh depositors of the bank.