HDIL promoter Wadhawan’s bail plea rejected in PMC Bank scam

STRAP: Illegalities on account of pressure from HDIL promoters and bank MD, says courtMumbai: While rejecting the bail plea of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) promoter Sarang Wadhawan, the sessions court has observed that the illegalities and irregularities allegedly committed in the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC Bank) were due to pressure exerted by Sarang Wadhawan, Rakesh Wadhawan and the bank’s then managing director, Joy Thomas

STRAP: Illegalities on account of pressure from HDIL promoters and bank MD, says court

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Mumbai: While rejecting the bail plea of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) promoter Sarang Wadhawan, the sessions court has observed that the illegalities and irregularities allegedly committed in the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC Bank) were due to pressure exerted by Sarang Wadhawan, Rakesh Wadhawan and the bank’s then managing director, Joy Thomas.

Sarang Wadhawan had approached the court on the grounds that other accused had been granted bail while he had been in prison for three years. Also, he said there was not sufficient material to show that he played an active role in the scam.

Sessions Judge S M Tapkire rejected Wadhawan’s bail plea last month. In the detailed order made available on Tuesday, the judge observed that the records prima facie clarified that the applicant, along with his father and Joy Thomas, actively participated in the crime.

The order says that on account of the “illegal activities” and “crime” of the accused, PMC Bank had suffered huge losses to the tune of over ₹6,000 crore. “Thereby, the entire structure and foundation of PMC Bank has collapsed…” says the order, adding that all the depositors and account-holders had “suffered unbearable financial and mental pain, loss and agony” and thus the matter needed to be “considered sensitively”.

The court said that Sarang had obtained a huge loan for his HDIL group of companies, which remained unpaid from 2008 to 2019. “However, in between that, the applicant, his father, managing director Joy Thomas, other directors, executives and bank employees by making conspiracy and collusion, replaced 44 loan accounts of HDIL and its group of companies, whose individual balance of outstanding was significantly higher, with 21,049 fictitious loan accounts, wherein individual balance of outstanding was comparatively lower,” the court said.

Further, the court noted that the 21,049 accounts were not actually created in the bank’s core banking solutions software and were merely recorded entries in Advance Master Intend which were submitted to the Reserve Bank of India. The court hence said that the case of Sarang could be considered at par with the other accused.

“The applicant and his HDIL group of companies and also his father Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan are the beneficiaries of the alleged scam,” says the order, adding that records do not reveal that employees, directors or executives were beneficiaries. Moreover, it states, that as per the submission of the respondents/state, all the employees and directors were under pressure and facing threats from Joy Thomas, and thus committed the alleged irregularities. “Therefore, they have been granted liberty,” says the order.