Supreme Court also directed that their personal properties be attached. The next date of hearing has been fixed for March 26
Vandana Ramnani
Moneycontrol News
The Supreme Court on February 28 allowed Delhi Police to arrest and interrogate embattled firm Amrapali Group’s CMD Anil Sharma and two other directors in a case of cheating lodged with its Economic Offence Wing (EOW). It also directed their personal properties to be attached. The next date of hearing has been fixed for March 26.
The top court said the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police can also arrest Amrapali directors Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar in the case.
The three, currently in judicial custody following petitions by home buyers awaiting possession of their flats totalling 42,000, will now be moved to custody under Delhi Police.
A bench of Arun Mishra and UU Lalit said, “We had never stopped any agency from arresting the directors, who are currently housed in a Noida hotel under the detention of UP Police.”
The Supreme Court had in October last year ordered the Amrapali Group officials to be kept at a Noida hotel under police surveillance.
In December, the Supreme Court had ordered the seizure of assets of the company, asking why criminal proceedings should not be initiated. It even called the company the "worst kind of cheater in the world" and "a perfect liar" for not complying with its direction.
It has already ordered the seizure of the company's 100-bed multi-speciality hospital, bank accounts, the building which houses its office, certain firms and a benami villa in Goa.
On Thursday, the apex court also ordered forensic auditors to complete their audit and submit the final report by March 22 and listed the matter for compliance on March 26 and kept aside three days April 2, April 3 and April 4 for final hearing of the matter, Supreme Court lawyer representing Amrapali buyers Kumar Mihir told Moneycontrol.
At the last hearing, the court had appointed a valuer to ascertain the exact value of 5,229 unsold flats including those booked by Amrapali for just Rs 1, Rs 11 and Rs 12.
NBCC on Thursday filed a status report on the work that was currently on in the Castle and Eden Park projects in Noida and expressed its inability to sell the unsold flats. At the last hearing, the court had allowed the NBCC to issue advertisement for the unsold flats of two Amrapali projects -- Eden Park and Castle -- being constructed by it so as funds could be raised.
In January 2019, the forensic auditors pointed out there are some discrepancies in the investment made by JP Morgan in Amrapali Zodiac which they would like to further investigate. According to the auditors, peons bought a share of companies worth crore and were probably involved in the transaction with JP Morgan.
The apex court said they were awaiting the final report of the forensic auditors to find out how many unsold flats were there.
The CFO on Thursday deposited Rs 2 crore more and has sought time until March 10 to deposit the balance amount.
The Supreme Court on February 14 had grilled Amrapali Group CMD Anil Kumar Sharma for Rs 94 crore of homebuyers' money being shown in his bank account and also warned that it would send him to jail for his "reluctance" in disclosing the identity of a person, who had bought company's shares worth Rs 140 crore from the multi-national firm JP Morgan. The top court gave Sharma one last opportunity to return Rs 6.55 crore of homebuyers' money, which he had transferred to his daughter, by February 28 and sought an explanation of Rs 94 crore shown in his bank account.
The company on Thursday filed an affidavit that said they do not have the money, legal sources said.
On February 11, the apex court had taken strong exception to two prime properties of Amrapali, including a five-star hotel, finding no bidders in an auction and said that prima facie it looks like "cartelisation is at work".The top court said that it is "shocking and disturbing" that bankers are not coming forward to finance the properties.
A five-star hotel 'Amrapali Holiday Inn Tech Park' constructed in Greater Noida and prime land in Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh were put up for auction on January 31 by the DRT but no bidder had come forward to bid.
vandana.ramannai@nw18.com
