Court rejects bail of director
Says being bank director Jasvinder Singh Banwait owes responsibility towards depositors
Stating that prima-facie there is an act of intentional omission on part of the applicant in connivance with other accused, a sessions court denied bail to one of the directors of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank Jasvinder Singh Banwait.
Banwait, who was a member on the bank’s Board of Directors and also of its Recovery Committee, Loan and advance Committee had sought bail stating that he had been falsely implicated in the case. His advocate had argued that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has failed to substantiate his role in the crime.
Special Public Prosecutor for the EOW, Ajay Misar had opposed his bail plea stating that 60 lakh depositors had been affected by the fraud and that the bank executives had camouflaged the actual loan accounts of defaulting borrowers to the detriment of the bank and its depositors.
Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay N Yadav said in his order that on a perusal of investigation papers it prima facie shows that the managing director Joy Thomas and other functionaries including the present applicant… intentionally reported false record of accounts to the RBI to suppress the materi
al position of the loan accounts of HDIL group of companies. The order also noted that the bank had replaced loan accounts whose individual outstanding was higher with 21,049 fictitious loan accounts which were not created in the core banking solution of the bank.
“The statements of witnesses recorded…shows that the loan transactions were brought to the notice of the Board of Directors,” judge Yadav said. In another part of the order, the court said that there is prima facie evidence that the directors including the applicant intentionally overlooked the repayment of various credit facilities.
“The accused being the director of the bank owe a responsibility towards the depositors who have deposited amount out of their hard earnings,” it said and calling the nature of accusations against Banwait serious, the court said that in the larger interest of the public or state, it is not a fit case to grant bail.