Hyderabad: In a setback to the promoters of the city based Leo Meridian Infrastructure Projects and Hotels Ltd, the Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday refused to quash the criminal cases registered against them by the CBI’s Bank Securities and Frauds cell, Bengaluru.
The CBI had on February 16, 2017, issued a FIR against the firm and its promoters G.S. Chakravarthi Raju, Gokaraju Swarna Kumari, T.V. Narasimham, Rama Chandra Raju Dendukuri and Rangaraju Kalidindi, based on a complaint lodged by the Indian Overseas Bank.
According to the complaint, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda, State Bank of Mysore and Allahabad Bank formed a consortium led by Bank of Baroda and sanctioned loan to Leo Projects for its housing and resorts project at Shameerpet in the city.
Later, the company defaulted on the repayment of the loan amount of Rs 432.22 crore.
IOB complained to the CBI that the company mortgaged the lands that had already been sold to individuals after being developed as plots. The lead banker also lodged complaint against the company on February 19, 2017.
Aggrieved by the registration of the FIR, the promoters moved the quash petitions contending that the loan was availed by the company and they, being the promoters/ directors were not liable to face criminal charges since the principle of vicarious liability has no room in criminal law.
Justice M. Satyanarayana Murthy, while dismissing the petitions, observed that the petitioners allegedly committed a serious economic offence amounting to crores by submitting false statements and led the consortium to believe that they had complied with all the requirements, only to siphon off the entire amount without constructing the hotel.
Poll notification set aside
Making it clear that the State Cooperative Election Authority mentioned in the Cooperative Societies Act alone has the power to conduct elections to the Karimnagar Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd., the Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday set aside a notification issued by the district collector to conduct the polls on Thursday.
Justice A. Ramalingeswara Rao was allowing a petition by C. Janardhan and others, questioning the notification issued by the collector on July 30.
The petitioners informed the court that after the amendment to the Cooperative Societies Act by the newly-formed Telangana state, a state cooperative election authority has been constituted and it alone shall conduct elections to various cooperative bodies in the state.
They submitted that instead of the authority, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies issued a circular permitting the district collector to conduct the polls.
They brought to the notice of the court that a division bench of the court had set aside the circular issued by the Registrar.
While taking into consideration the amendment to the Cooperative Societies Act and judgement of the division bench, the HC set aside the notification.
HC notices on Academy assets
The Hyderabad High Court has sought to know the stand of the Centre and the governments of AP and TS on a PIL seeking bifurcation of employees and funds of the Telugu Academy between the Telugu states.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice J. Uma Devi was dealing with a petition by one Mahankali Venkata Subba Rao of Guntur district, seeking to declare as illegal the failure of the governments to bifurcate the employees and funds of the Telugu Academy.
The petitioner brought to the notice of the court that the Telugu Academy was listed in the 10th Schedule of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 which made it mandatory to bifurcate its assets within two years from the appointed day.
