Back
IN THE SPECIAL COURT AT BOMBAY
SHALINI PHANSALKAR JOSHI, J.
Central Bureau of Investigation, Mumbai. - Complainant
Versus
Rama Subramanian Sitaraman S/o. Krishnaswamy Rama Subramanian - Accused
Special Case No. 4 of 1993
Decided On : 01-11-2018
Fall out of security scam - Rocked nation - Shattered its economy - Umbrella charge of criminal conspiracy - The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 - Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 409 , 420 , 120-B , 13(2) , 13(1) (c) (d) , 477(A), 467 , 471 , 411 and 414 ,This Special Case is a fall out of security scam that rocked nation and shattered its economy for years to come. Accused No2 Harshad S. Mehta, who is no more and in whose name scam came to be known, is one of main Accused in this case, against whom case however stands abated on account of his untimely death . - other Accused were at relevant time Officers in SBI , Main Branch and its subsidiary, SBI Capital Markets Ltd. except Accused No8 Ashwin Mehta, who was Broker and Constituted Attorney of Accused No2 Harshad Mehta and Accused No3 C Ravi Kumar and Accused No12 Suresh Babu, who were Officers of National Housing Bank - According to Prosecution, these Accused-persons had conspired together for benefit of Accused No2 Harshad Mehta. Hence, all of them are prosecuted and are tried under umbrella charge of criminal conspiracy, punishable under S 120-B of IPC, along with charge for offence punishable under Section 420 of IPC, in alternate S 409 of IPC- Accused Nos .1, 3, 4, 5, 15, 16 and 17, who are alleged to be public servants, are also tried for offence punishable under S 13(2) read with S 13(1) (c) (d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988; whereas Accused No8 is charged for offence of abetment under S 109 of IPC in respect of these offences- Accused No1 R - Sitaraman and Accused No16 Bhushan Raut are further charged for offence punishable under S 477(A) of IPC and Accused Nos 3 Coodli Ravi Kumar and Accused No12 Seetapathy Suresh Babu are additionally charged for offence punishable under S 467 and 471 of IPC - Accused No8 Ashwin Mehta and Accused No15 S - R - Gupta are also charged for offences punishable under S411 and 414 read with S 120B of IPC – Held, Court have no hesitation in holding that Prosecution has failed to prove its case against all Accused beyond reasonable doubt - Hence, Following Order - Accused No1,Accused No3, Accused No4, Accused No5, Accused No8, Accused No15, Accused No16 and Accused No17 stand acquitted for offences punishable under S 120B and 420, in alternate S409 read with S 120B of IPC- Accused No1, Accused No3, Accused No4, Accused No5, Accused No12, Accused No15 Accused No16 and Accused No17, are further acquitted for offences punishable under S 13(1)(c) and (d) read with S13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act and Accused No8 stands acquitted for offence punishable under Section 13(1)(c) and (d), read with S 13(2) of Corruption Act, read with S109 of IPC - Accused No1 and Accused No16 are further acquitted for offence punishable under S 477A read with S 120B of IPC- Accused No3 and Accused No12 are acquitted for offence punishable under S 467 and 471 read with S 120B of IPC- Accused No8 and Accused No15 stand acquitted for offence under S 411 and 414 read with S 120B of IPC - Accused No1 , Accused No3, Accused No4, Accused No5, Accused No and Accused No12 are granted three weeks time to furnish cash surety of Rs - 25,000/- each- Accused No15, Accused No16 and Accused No17 were released on bail on furnishing PR Bonds and Cash security of Rs - 25,000/- each - Same security be continued for period of six months for their appearance before Honble Supreme Court, as and when notice is issued to them in respect of any Appeal or Petition filed against Judgment and such Bonds shall be in force for six months – Ordered accordingly
1. This Special Case is a fall out of the security scam, that rocked the nation in the year 1992 and shattered its economy for the years to come. Accused No.2 Harshad S. Mehta, who is no more and in whose name the scam came to be known, is one of the main Accused in this case, against whom the case however stands abated on account of his untimely death in the year 2001. The other Accused were at the relevant time the Officers in the State Bank of India, Main Branch, Mumbai (for short, “SBI Main Branch”) and its subsidiary, State Bank of India Capital Markets Ltd. (for short, “SBI Caps”), except Accused No.8 Ashwin Mehta, who was Broker and the Constituted Attorney of Accused No.2 Harshad Mehta and Accused No.3 C. Ravi Kumar and Accused No.12 Suresh Babu, who were the Officers of National Housing Bank (for short, “NHB”).
Prosecution Case – As set out in the 'Charge-Sheet' :-
2. According to the Prosecution, these Accused-persons had conspired together for the benefit of Accused No.2 Harshad Mehta. Hence, all of them are prosecuted and are tried under the umbrella charge of criminal conspiracy, punishable under Section 120-B of The Indian Penal Code (for short, “IPC”), along with the charge for the offence punishable under Section 420 of IPC, in the alternate Section 409 of IPC.
3. Accused Nos.1, 3, 4, 5, 15, 16 and 17, who are alleged to be the public servants, are also tried for the offence punishable under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1) (c) (d) of The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988; whereas Accused No.8 is charged for the offence of abetment under Section 109 of IPC in respect of these offences.
4. Accused No.1 R. Sitaraman and Accused No.16 Bhushan Raut are further charged for the offence punishable under Section 477(A) of IPC and Accused Nos.3 Coodli Ravi Kumar and Accused No.12 Seetapathy Suresh Babu are additionally charged for the offence punishable under Section 467 and 471 of IPC.
5. Accused No.8 Ashwin Mehta and Accused No.15 S.R. Gupta are also charged for the offences punishable under Section 411 and 414 read with Section 120B of IPC.
6. All these charges are in respect of in all 24 transactions of purchase of securities by SBI Caps through the Broker late Mr. Harshad Mehta.
7. Accused Nos.1 R. Sitaraman and Accused No.16 Bhushan Raut were at the relevant time the Officer in-charge and Deputy Manager of the Securities Division of SBI Main Branch.
8. Accused Nos.3 Coodli Ravi Kumar and Accused No.12 Seetapathy Suresh Babu were the Officers in-charge of Funds Management Group of National Housing Bank.
9. Accused Nos.4 Ashok Agarwal, Accused No.5 Janardan Bandopadhyay and Accused No.15 Shyamsunder Gupta were the 'Dealers' and Accused No.17 P. Murlidharan was the 'Executive Secretary' of SBI Caps.
10. Accused No.8 Ashwin Mehta is the Broker and has acted as 'Constituted Attorney' of late Harshad Mehta in some of the transactions.
11. The case of the Prosecution, in brief, is that the accused persons have in pursuance of the criminal conspiracy hatched by them, cheated SBI Caps to the tune of Rs.105.11 crores in 'sale and purchase transactions of securities' during the year 1991-92, as per the following transactions :
(a) Transaction dated 29th July 1991 for purchase of 25 lakh units of Rs.3,37,75,000/- from UCO Bank by SBI Caps.
(b) Transaction dated 2nd September 1991 for purchase of 5 crore units of Rs.67,83,00,000/- from National Housing Bank by SBI Caps.
(c) Transaction dated 31st March 1992 for purchase of 1.25 crore units of Rs.18,75,00,000/- from CANBANK Financial Services Ltd. by SBI Caps.
(d) Transaction dated 6th April 1992 for purchase of 1 crore units of Rs.15,15,00,000/- from CANFINA by SBI Caps.
12. The complaint for this offence was lodged by Accused No.5 Janardan Bandopahyay himself on behalf of SBI Capital Markets, in consequence of which the Crime was registered. The case was initially registe
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
