Navodaya Bank scam: HC rejects Hingal's plea to transfer Rs 3 crore bail deposit
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court refused to let Navodaya Bank scam accused Manmohan Hingal transfer his Rs 3 crore bail deposit to the bank.
Manmohan Hingal, an accused in Nagpur's Navodaya Bank scam, has suffered another setback from the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. Hingal is accused of colluding with the bank management to illegally obtain fake loans, and he was made an accused in the case on that basis.
During the hearing, the High Court had earlier granted Hingal bail considering his age, on the condition that he deposit Rs 3 crore as a guarantee. Hingal now filed an application seeking to have this amount transferred to Navodaya Urban Cooperative Bank Limited. Justice Nerlikar rejected the request.
The court said in its order that if the amount, deposited for a specific purpose, were now allowed to be transferred to the bank, it would defeat the entire purpose of the court's original order. Advocate Nitin Jaiswal appeared for Hingal, while Additional Government Pleader N.B. Jawade appeared for the state.
The case dates back to 2019, when the amount had to be deposited for bail. The petitioner had filed the present application before the High Court seeking a direction to transfer the Rs 3 crore deposited with the special court to Navodaya Urban Cooperative Bank Limited, Nagpur.
The petitioner's counsel drew the court's attention to the earlier order of 13 December 2019, under which bail had been granted on this condition. As per that order, the applicants were first directed to deposit Rs 1 crore within seven days with the Additional Sessions Judge and the special court set up under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act. The remaining Rs 2 crore was to be deposited with the special court within 16 weeks, making a total of Rs 3 crore.
The earlier order of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had also made clear that if the Rs 2 crore was not deposited within the stipulated time, the bail granted to the petitioners would stand cancelled, and the special court could also issue non-bailable warrants against them.
The petitioner's side told the court that the full Rs 3 crore had been deposited with the special court in compliance with the 2019 order. However, the applicant wanted to settle his account with the bank under a one-time settlement, or OTS, scheme, which is why permission was sought to transfer the deposited amount to Navodaya Urban Cooperative Bank, a request the court turned down.
