Bombay High Court Grants Relief To Gautam Adani In 2012 Cheating Case Worth ₹388 Crore
In a reprieve for industrialist Gautam Adani, the chairman of Adani Enterprises and its Managing Director Rajesh Adani, the Bombay High Court today quashed a sessions court order which refused to discharge them in a Rs 388 crore alleged market regulations violation case.
Single-judge Justice Rajesh Ladhha quashed the November 2019 order passed by a sessions court in Mumbai, which held that the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has made out a case against Adanis in the said market regulations violation case.
A detailed copy of the order is yet to be made available.
Adanis had moved the High Court in December 2019 challenging the order of the Sessions Court. The said order was stayed in December 2019 itself and the interim relief was extended from time-to-time until March 12, when Justice Laddha reserved orders in the case.
The Adani Enterprises along with Gautam and Rajesh Adani had sought discharge from the case lodged against them by the SFIO, way back in 2012.
The SFIO had filed its chargesheet against 12 persons including Adanis. It accused the industrialist and his brother of hatching a criminal conspiracy and cheating.
But a Magistrate's court in the city concluded that the evidence adduced by the SFIO fell short for making out a strong case or prosecuting Adanis. It therefore, discharged them.
Thereafter, in 2014, the SFIO challenged the Magistrate's order before a sessions court, which in November 2019, quashed and set aside the discharge order in favour of Adanis.
In its order, the sessions court opined that the SFIO had made out a strong case of unlawful gain by the Adani Group.
Challenging this order, the Adani Enterprises petitioned the High Court, claiming that the sessions court order was arbitrary and illegal.