Mumbai: In light of the Supreme Court allowing DSK Developers an extension till January 19 to deposit the first installment of funds to repay depositors, the Bombay high court has allowed them a further extension till January 22 to show their bona fide by depositing some amount.
The court made it plain that the depositors’ support was due to the hope that they would get their money back and should not be construed as an excuse to stay out of prison.
Justice S.S. Jadhav was hearing the anticipatory bail application of promoters of DSK Developers claiming that in light of their properties and accounts being sealed, they needed further time to deposit the instalment as determined by the HC and until then, no coercive action should be taken against them by the police.
Senior advocate Ashok Mundargi, appearing for the promoters, said that before the assets of the developers were sealed sometime in November 2017, they had been paying investors who were in dire need of money. The fact that nearly 2,000 investors were supporting them showed that the depositors had faith in the company and it was only because of sealing of assets that the promoters were unable to deposit the determined amount and needed further time to do so. The public prosecutor, however, informed the court that even after assets were sealed, the developer had sold off two properties and hence, there was no problem in depositing the determined amount. At an earlier hearing, the court had directed the promoters to deposit '50 crore as the first instalment out of approximately '200 crore they owed to depositors.
After hearing both contentions, justice Jadhav directed the state to file a short affidavit and produce documents to corroborate its claims as advocates of the applicants said they were unaware of any such sale. She said, “The people are supporting you (developer) because they want their money back. They hope that it will be returned to them if you are free. You have to show the bona fides and hence, granting extension till January 22…”
