Bombay high court refuses to de-freeze two bank accounts of Adarsh housing society

Mumbai city news: Justice Anil Menon refused to interfere with the special CBI court’s order rejecting the society’s plea for de-freezing the accounts.

The Bombay high court on Wednesday refused to de-freeze two bank accounts of scam-hit Adarsh cooperative housing society.

The society approached high court after the special CBI court turned down its plea to de-freeze the accounts on September 16, 2015. (HT file photos)

Justice Anil Menon refused to interfere with the special CBI court’s order rejecting the society’s plea for de-freezing the accounts. This was after he observed that some money from the accounts was invested in a nationalised bank and that the society was operating another bank account.

The society approached high court after the special CBI court turned down its plea to de-freeze the accounts on September 16, 2015. Its lawyer had earlier claimed that the money lying in the two accounts – amounting to Rs1.47 crore – had nothing to do with the offences allegedly committed by members of the society. He added that the money was collected after the CBI registered an FIR in the case.

The society also said that since the CBI has completed its investigation and filed the charge sheet, there was no use to continue the freeze on the accounts.

But CBI counsel Hitendra Venegaonkar claimed that the money in those accounts were part of benami transactions.

Apart from this, Justice Menon also took into consideration that the CBI had offered to clear payment of the society’s statutory dues out of the money from the accounts but the society had rejected the offer.

One day later, the CBI instructed the State Bank of India to not allow anyone to use the two accounts.