Adjourning the matter to August 18, the HC said it would on that date hear and decide pleas for interim relief including requests for protection from any coercive steps and arrests.
The quashing petitions were filed by Raj Kumar Bansal the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd and its chairperson Rashesh Shah and Jitender Kothari the Interim Resolution Professional apart from two others.
The HC bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and R N Laddha heard senior counsel Amit Desai and Aabad Ponda for the petitioners.
“The genesis of the prosecution’s case is that … Nitin Desai, because of the criminal act of the petitioners, have committed suicide”, noted the HC order. The FIR alleged they abetted his suicide, but the counsel argued that no case was made out and the FIR be quashed.
Desai’s widow had following his death by suicide on August 2, lodged a first information report (FIR) on Augst 4 with the Khalapur police station invoking the offence of “abetment of suicide” under section 306 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) read with “common intention” by various accused.
Among the various allegations the FIR alleged that though appointed as the IRP by the NCLT and expected to oversee the functioning of (Desai’s) company during the insolvency process, Kothari was allegedly “acting on the say of the finance company” to “forcefully take control of the Studio” with alleged “mala fide motive” for construction of private and commercial premises on the studio land.
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai, had in its July 25 order appointed Kothari as the IRP after ordering a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against ND’s Art World Pvt Ltd—Desai’s company–over its ?252 crore debt following two loans totalling Rs 181 crore. Edelweiss had filed the company petition against Desai’s company claiming a corporate debt of Rs 252 crore for two loans taken by Desai’s company in 2020. Desai had appealed to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). The NCLAT, however, on August 1 upheld the NCLT order finding “no merit” in Desai’s appeal.
