Bombay HC asks Pune builder, wife to attend EOW office daily till Feb 13

Builder Deepak Sakharam Kulkarni, popularly known as DSK, and his wife Hemanti have been accused in a number of cases for allegedly cheating hundreds of investors of crores.

Builder Deepak Sakharam Kulkarni, popularly known as DSK, and his wife Hemanti will have to be present at the Economic Offences Wing office, Pune, for four hours every day till February 13.

The court also rapped the police for failing to attach all DSK Group’s properties by invoking provisions of the Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999. (HT File(Representational Image))

Giving the order, the Bombay high court on Monday directed the couple, who is facing a number of criminal cases for allegedly cheating hundreds of investors of crores, to appear before it on February 13.

Justice Sadhana Jadhav issued the directive after special public prosecutor Pravin Chavan said there was no unencumbered property owned by the DSK Group which could be sold to repay the depositors. He was responding to the Group’s offer to sell four of its properties, which can purportedly fetch Rs45 crore to Rs50 crore.

Chavan said that DSK Group has misled the court to buy time. The comment came after DSK’s lawyer, senior advocate Ashok Mundargi, submitted that the realty firm had failed to make available Rs50 crore which was supposed to be transferred from Singapore to one of its bank accounts in India.

The court was hearing the anticipatory bail pleas filed by the couple. Justice Jadhav rapped the police and the revenue officials for failing to attach all DSK Group’s properties by invoking provisions of the Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999.

“Shame on you… you have not taken any steps to invoke provisions of the MPID Act,” said Justice Jadhav. She was irked to note that though the police had filed proposal for invoking the MPID Act, the sub-divisional officer had not acted on it.

On October 28, DSK and his wife were booked for cheating and criminal breach of trust after a complaint lodged by a Kothrud resident.