Non-bailable warrants issued for Mehul Choksi, wife in Gitanjali Jewellery case

The October 8 order records the RoC’s application seeking warrants against both Choksi and Priti through the ministry. The matter has been adjourned to November 3 for a report on the two accused

MUMBAI: A sessions court has issued a non-bailable warrant against Priti Mehul Choksi, wife of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, and asked the Registrar of Companies (RoC) to forward warrants against the couple to the ministry of external affairs in a prosecution against Gitanjali Jewellery Retail Ltd over alleged violations of company law.

Mehul Choksi (HT Archive)

In its October 8 order, the court noted that the warrant against Priti had not been issued due to a clerical lapse and directed that it be issued through the home department. The RoC had separately sought warrants against both Choksi and Priti through the ministry.

The prosecution dates back to 2014 when the RoC began examining Gitanjali Jewellery’s sales-promotion schemes following information shared by the Central Bureau of Investigation with the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau about schemes operated by jewellery companies. The RoC issued a notice to Gitanjali Jewellery on October 28, 2014, seeking details of money collected from customers under its ‘Swarna Mangal’ and ‘Shagun’ schemes.

In its reply, submitted on December 16, 2014, the company disclosed collections of ₹30.78 crore under the Shagun scheme, ₹13.24 crore under the Swarna Mangal Labh scheme and ₹15.27 crore under the Swarna Mangal Kalash scheme between 2010 and 2014.

The CBI had raised concerns that such schemes allowed jewellers to collect funds from the public that could be used as working capital or to obtain bank loans while customers’ apparent gains could be offset by jewellery profit margins and making charges.

Gitanjali Jewellery contested the allegations in response to show-cause notices issued in 2014 and 2016. Through its director Aniyath Nair, the company maintained that it had not promised to return the money collected with interest and argued that the schemes did not require regulatory approval at that time.

In October 2018, the court found prima facie material to issue process against the accused. A non-bailable warrant against Choksi had already been issued before August 12 this year, but the court ordered it to be kept in abeyance until the next hearing. His lawyer, Advocate Rahul Agarwal, subsequently sought warrants against Choksi and his wife through the ministry of external affairs.

The October 8 order records the RoC’s application seeking warrants against both Choksi and Priti through the ministry. The matter has been adjourned to November 3 for a report on the two accused.