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2025 Supreme(Del) 777
2025:DHC:714
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
DINESH KUMAR SHARMA, J.
Aadhar Khera – Appellant
Versus
State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi) – Respondent
Bail Application No. 3631 of 2022, Bail Application No. 196 of 2024, Crl. M. (Bail) No. 1478 of 2022, Crl. M. (Bail) No. 89 of 2024, Crl. M.A. No. 1527 of 2024
Decided On : 06-02-2025
Advocates Appeared :
For the Appellants : Vikas Pahwa, Sajay Abbot, Sanjana Mihsra
For the Respondents : Mukesh Kumar, Akhil Sibhal, Mudit Jain, Adit S. Pujari, Garima Singh, Zeeshan Thomas, Satya Jha, Adya Jha, Kanishka Bhati, Ridhi, Vanya Chhabra, K. Bapat, Awadhesh Kr.
Mr. Vikas Pahwa, Sr. Adv. with Mr.Sajay Abbot and Ms.Sanjana Mihsra, Advs; Mr.Manu Sharma, Senior Advocate with Mr. Abhir Datt, Mr. Debayan Gangopadhyay, Mr. Kartik Khanna, Mr. Abhyuday Sharma, Mr. Shahbaz Singh, Mr. Anant Gupta and Mr. Chaitanya Hegde, Advs
Anticipatory bail was denied due to serious allegations of financial fraud, emphasizing the need for custodial interrogation to investigate the conspiracy.
Headnote:
(A) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Section 438 - Anticipatory bail - Applications for anticipatory bail filed by Aadhar Khera and Charu Khera dismissed due to serious allegations of financial fraud involving misappropriation of funds from Seagull Maritime Agencies Pvt. Ltd. - The court emphasized the gravity of the accusations and the need for custodial interrogation to unearth the conspiracy. (Paras 60-68)
(B) Anticipatory bail - Factors considered - The court considered the nature of the accusations, the role of the accused, and the potential for tampering with evidence, ultimately ruling that the applicants did not meet the criteria for anticipatory bail. (Paras 51-59)
Facts of the case:
The applicants were implicated in a conspiracy involving fraudulent activities to siphon off funds from Seagull Maritime Agencies Pvt. Ltd. to their entities, Azure Freight & Logistics LLP and Azure International LLC, resulting in significant financial losses.
Findings of Court:
The court found that the allegations against the applicants were grave, warranting custodial interrogation to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy.
Issues: The main issues included the applicants' roles in the alleged fraud and whether they posed a flight risk or a threat to the investigation.
Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that the serious nature of the allegations and the potential for evidence tampering justified the denial of anticipatory bail.
Result: Applications for anticipatory bail dismissed.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. factual matrix of the case (Para 3) |
| 2. submissions on behalf of the applicant - aadhar khera (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28) |
| 3. submissions on behalf of the applicant charu khera (Para 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24) |
| 4. submission on behalf of the state (Para 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34) |
| 5. submission on behalf of the complainant (Para 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49) |
| 6. finding and analysis (Para 50) |
| 7. principles behind the grant of pre-arrest bail (Para 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67) |
| 8. applications for anticipatory bail dismissed (Para 68) |
JUDGMENT :
DINESH KUMAR SHARMA, J.
PREFACE
1. The present applications have been filed behalf of the Applicants namely Aadhar Khera and Charu Khera seeking anticipatory bail in case FIR No.14/2022 dated 27.01.2022 registered at PS: EOW, under Sections 408/420/467/468/471/120B IPC.
2. The anticipatory bail application filed by the Applicant - Aadhar Khera was dismissed by the learned Sessions Court on 10.11.2022 while the application of the Applicant - Charu Khera was dismissed on 15.01.2024. Since both bail applications arise out of the same FIR and there is similitude of facts as well as the legal issues raised by the parties, both applications are decided by this common order.
FACTUAL MATRIX
3. Briefly stated the factual matrix of the case as per the status report is as follows:-
a. The instant FIR was registered on the complaint of the Director of M/s Seagull Maritime Agencies Pvt. Ltd. (‘Seagull’), wherein it was alleged that the accused persons, namely Ajay Khera and Siddharth Khera, in connivance with certain employees of Seagull, engaged in fraudulent activities to siphon off business and funds from Seagull to their newly incorporated entities—Azure Freight & Logistics LLP and Azure International LLC.
b. Seagull is a company engaged in the freight forwarding business and it opened a US branch in 2010. Mr. Ajay Khera was working with the company at that time as a legal consultant and requested the ex-promoters of Seagull to employ his son, Siddharth Khera, to look after the USA branch of Seagull. Accordingly, Siddharth Khera was appointed as Business Development Manager at the USA branch. The business Seagull had been operating smoothly until a steady decline in revenue was noticed in 2018, culminating in severe financial losses by July 2021.
c. Upon enquiry, it was revealed that during his tenure, Siddharth Khera, along with Ajay Khera, systematically misrepresented Azure Freight & Logistics LLP and Azure International LLC, as a part of the Seagull group and fraudulently diverted Seagull’s clients. It was alleged that the accused persons also manipulated financial transactions to channel payments intended for Seagull into Azure’s accounts by forging the Bills of Lading, invoices, and other documents, as well as altering the shipper names in transactions and misusing Seagull’s online credentials to conduct business under false pretences.
d. Upon resigning, the accused persons also allegedly replaced the hard drives of their official computers to erase critical data. The complainant estimated a wrongful loss of approximately INR 30 crores due to these fraudulent acts.
e. Upon registration of the FIR, an investigation was carried out, which revealed that Seagull’s business relations with M/s EMR group had been sharply diverted to Azure International LLC from January 2021, resulting in losses to Seagull amounting to millions of USD.
f. During investigation a response was received from M/s Export Global Metals, which confirmed that payments for consignments booked through Seagull were made into the accounts of Azure International LLC. The total amount siphoned off by the accused persons has been estimated to be around USD 52,413.
g. The complainant had also alleged that several ex-employees of Seagull, including Heera Malhotra, Zingrem K
