SC declines to quash FIR against HDFC MD

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain HDFC Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sashidhar Jagdishan's appeal seeking quashing of a first information report (FIR) for his alleged involvement in the fraudulent activities concerning the financials of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, which runs the Lilavati Hospital in Bandra, Mumbai.A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan said that it would be improper for it to intervene in the matter when Jagdishan’s plea to quash the criminal complaint is already listed for hearing before the Bombay High Court on July 14. “...we will not apply our mind on the merits. The case is listed on July 14. We hope it will be taken up on that day," the top court said.The FIR registered in May against Jagdishan on the trust’s complaint accused him of accepting Rs 2.05 crore in bribes to help the Chetan Mehta Group retain illegal and undue control over the governance of the trust. Jagdishan is accused of misusing his position as the head of a leading private bank to interfere in the internal affairs of a charitable organisation.Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Jagdishan, told the apex court that three benches of the Bombay High Court had recused themselves from hearing the case, causing a delay in the matter. "A frivolous FIR has been lodged against the MD and the Bank, by trustees of the Lilavati hospital, who are litigating against the other group of trustees. “The bank has been roped in a private dispute. The idea is to summon Jagdishan to the police station…it will create havoc for the bank and will also affect my (Jagdishan) reputation,” he said.According to the appeal, Jagdishan had been accused of having accepted cash payments of Rs 2.05 crore from a trust on the basis of photocopy of diary entries, which on the face of it are “fabricated and seemingly entered in one go. There is no other evidence.”Jagdishan being the CEO and MD of the largest private bank in India was subjected to “strict scrutiny by RBI and 13 entries totaling to about 2 crore is preposterous, to say the least,” it said, adding that his petition for quashing of the FIR more than two weeks ago remains unheard. “…with each passing day, HDFC Bank continues to face a serious risk to its reputation as its CEO remains under cloud. The present SLP is not only in respect of an individual petitioner but concerns the integrity of the wider financial system of the country and its ability to withstand the pressures of unscrupulous defaulters,” the appeal stated.The FIR, registered last month by the Bandra police station following a May 29 order by a local Magistrate, booked Jagdishan and several others, including former trustee Chetan Mehta, for criminal breach of trust and cheating. The order by the Magistrate was issued after a seized cash diary allegedly showed misappropriation of Rs 14.42 crore by some trustees.Jagdishan, who took charge as MD and CEO of HDFC Bank in 2020, has sought the setting aside of the Magistrate's order that initiated the probe. He also sought a stay on the enquiry against him and protection from any coercive action, including filing of a charge sheet, failing which he will "suffer grave loss and irreparable injury."In June, HDFC Bank had denied the allegations, saying “HDFC Bank's MD and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan is being targeted by unscrupulous persons who are abusing the legal process to thwart the recovery of the long-outstanding loan due to the bank from recalcitrant defaulters.”

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/Nj4a8cy