Patel denied relief in fraud case

The Supreme Court turned down the plea of Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to stop proceedings against him in a fraud case, and said every citizen had the right to raise voice against corruption.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday turned down the plea of Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to stop proceedings against him in a fraud case, and said every citizen had the right to raise voice against corruption.

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Patel had contended that the complainant should have a locus standi in a criminal case. “When there is a matter involving scam and fraud, no question of locus standi should be raised. How will we check corruption if nobody comes forward,” asked a bench of Justices R.V. Raveendran and Markandeya Katju. No scam should escape investigation, it said.

Remanding the case back to Bombay High Court, the bench said there was no ground to interfere in the case and that the minister must make the submission before the HC.

Patel had approached the court seeking direction to stop proceedings against him in a case in which complaint was made after the UTI accused nine directors of Mumbai-based Auto Riders Finance Ltd of misappropriating the security given against a Rs 50 crore loan borrowed between 1993 and 1995 for setting up the firm. Patel was a non-executive director and chairman of the firm. He had sought quashing of HC’s direction, asking trial court to go ahead with the case seeking a CBI probe into the alleged fraud.