SC Permits Delhi Police To Arrest Amrapali Group CMD And Two Directors

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Delhi Police to arrest Amrapali Group Chairman and Managing Director Anil Sharma and two directors, Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar.

The bench comprising Justice Arun Mishra and Justice UU Lalit passed the order on ana applicationfiled by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Economic Offences Wing, Delhi Police

Allowing the application, the court clarified, "We make it clear that the Delhi Police is free to arrest/take into custody any or all the other Directors of Amrapali group of companies. Any order passed by this Court in this case shall not come in their way to do so."

The court essentially opined that prima facie, the case required "serious investigation" and observed, "Let the Police investigate the entire gamut of the scenario of the various projects, as projected in this case and various orders passed and investigate the entire matter Prima facie, we find that the case requires serious investigation in the facts projected by the Directors, CFO and the statutory auditors."

The court then directed the police to investigate the role of Mr. Anil Mittal, Statutory Auditor and Mr. Chander Wadhwa, CFO as well. "The Police may interrogate them and find out their criminality, if any, in the matter," it asserted.

It further ordered the directors to submit to the Deputy Commissioner affidavits indicating the operational methods of diversion of funds and creation of companies.

The court is seized of a batch of petitions filed by home buyers who are seeking possession of around 42,000 flats booked in projects of the Amrapali Group.

Sharma, Priya and Kumar have been in the custody of Uttar Pradesh Police since last October and have been housed in a Noida hotel on an Apex Court directive. They have been accused of not cooperating with forensic auditors examining financial transactions by the company and its directors. The court had therefore directed them to be kept under police surveillance in a hotel till investigation against the company was completed.

The Delhi Police had now sought permission for their arrest in a separate case lodged with its EoW wing, under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Following the registration of a case by EoW against the company and the two directors, the court had ordered the Amrapali Group to deposit Rs. 200 crores, which were taken on account of loans and advances, by March 31.