The Delhi High Court has granted bail to two directors of an app-based taxi company, accused of duping hundreds of people of ₹250 crore after promising them huge returns on investing in the firm.
The High Court granted bail to accused Sunder Singh Bhati and Rajesh Mahto, noting that they have been in custody for over a year now and their continued custody was no longer required.
The court also said that the chargesheet as well as supplementary chargesheet have been filed, and all the evidence available is documentary in nature and in custody of the investigating agency
While Mr. Bhati was arrested on December 9, 2020, Mr. Mahto was arrested on August 22 of the same year. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police had arrested the two directors of ‘Hello Taxi’ for their alleged involvement in the multi-crore fraud case.
According to the prosecution, the two, along with other business partners had duped hundreds of people by promising that if they invested their money, the firm would give them a 200% return within one year.
It opposed the bail pleas saying the case is a “multi-victim scam” involving over 900 investors.
The prosecution stated that the accused were dishonest from the inception and that at the time of the booking, the Hello Taxi scheme had not been sanctioned and requisite permissions had not been obtained.
The prosecution stated that family members of the accused benefitted from the funds transferred from the company.
“Whether or not the cheated money was entrusted to the petitioners (accused) is a matter of trial and cannot be taken into consideration at this juncture. This court is, therefore, of the opinion that continued custody of the petitioners is no longer required and that both the petitioners should be enlarged on bail,” the High Court said.
