Bombay HC grants bail to ‘conman’ Sukesh Chandrashekhar in 2015 fraud case
Sukesh Chandrashekhar will not be released from the Delhi prison where he is lodged currently as he has been arrested in multiple fraud cases.
The Bombay high court on Thursday granted bail to alleged conman Sukash aka Shekhar aka Sukesh Chandrashekhar who was arrested in connection with a multi-crore fraud case in 2015. The single-judge bench of justice Manish Pitale granted Chandrashekhar bail primarily on the ground that he had already undergone incarceration for seven years and 10 months as an undertrial while the maximum sentence for charges levelled against him is seven years.
However, the 34-year-old resident of Bhavani Nagar in Bangalore will not be released from the Delhi prison where he is lodged currently as he has been arrested in multiple fraud cases and a money-laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Chandrashekhar had been arrested in connection with the multi-crore fraud case by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police on May 29, 2015. The case was originally registered with the Goregaon police, alleging that Chandrashekhar and three others floated several investment schemes through their entity, Kind Group of India, promising returns at the rate of 10-20% per month and 300-1500% on maturity. The schemes through which they collected ₹19 crore from 450 persons included Weekly New Year Bonanza, New year Bonanza, Christmas Santa Claus and Onam Special.
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The alleged conman was arrested after he and his partners defaulted on payments to investors. He moved the high court after the special MPID (Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors) court rejected his bail plea on July 31, 2020. His lawyer Vikram Sutaria submitted before the high court that his client had “remained behind bars for a period of about seven years and 10 months and therefore, the court may allow the bail application and direct the applicant to be released forthwith”.
Advocate Sutaria further submitted that after Chandrashekhar’s arrest in May 2015 and the subsequent rejection of his bail plea by the high court, he moved the supreme court, which released him on condition of depositing a certain amount. He was released from custody accordingly on September 10, 2016. But the apex court later cancelled the bail due to his failure to comply with bail conditions, said Sutaria.
Subsequently, the Delhi police arrested Chandrashekhar in connection with a case registered against him in Delhi on April 16, 2017, and he was produced before the designated MPID court in the EOW case again on October 9, 2017. “Since October 9, 2017, the applicant continued to remain behind bars,” Sutaria submitted and urged the court to release him on bail in view of section 436-A of the Criminal Procedure Code, which entitles an accused to bail if they have served half the maximum sentence for charges leveled against them.
Assistant public prosecutor Mayur Sonavane opposed Chandrashekhar’s bail plea, contending that the applicant could not be said to have been taken into custody in connection with the cheating case even though Roznama records showed that he was presented before the designated court on October 9, 2017.
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Justice Pitale, however, rejected the objection, holding that it was hyper-technical and granted bail to the alleged conman.
‘Always Wanted to be a Millionaire’
Sukesh Chandrashekhar was born on March 25, 1990. He completed his schooling from Madurai and forayed into real estate and organised car races, the Delhi Police’s EOW mentioned in the supplementary chargesheet filed in January 2024 in connection with a ₹200 crore fraud case.
“He always wanted to be a millionaire and used to dream big in life. For arranging all the things in his life, he needed money. For arranging money, he used all the fair and unfair means, including cheating and extorting victims,” the chargesheet said.
The alleged conman was first arrested in 2007 in a case lodged by the Bannerghatta Road police, Bangalore. Thereafter, he was booked and arrested several times by different police/ enforcement units, mostly in cheating cases.
ED’s PMLA Case
The ED accused Chandrasekhar of running an illegal extortion business from Delhi’s Central Jail in connivance with jail officials. The department’s probe revealed that he allegedly contacted people claiming he was a government officer and conned them by offering help for a price.
Chandrasekhar was accused of contacting Aditi Singh, wife of the businessman Shivinder Mohan Singh, using the same modus operandi. He allegedly impersonated officials such as the union home secretary, union law secretary and officer from the prime minister’s office and extorted more than ₹200 crore from her over a period of one year on the pretext of contribution to “party funds”.
The ED had in April 2022 provisionally attached Chandrasekhar’s assets worth ₹7.27 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The attached assets included fixed deposits worth ₹7.12 crore in the name of Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez. ED’s probe further revealed Chandrasekhar allegedly gave gifts worth ₹5.71 crore to the actoress from the proceeds of crime.
The ED Subsequently arrested Chandrasekhar and eight others in the case, including his wife Leena Maria Paul, and submitted a chargesheet against them before the special PMLA court, Patiala House, Delhi. During investigation, the ED had carried out searches at various premises all over India and seized/ attached assets worth ₹45 crore, including a bungalow in Chennai and 26 cars.