Rahul Surana challenged a court order, but the judges decided to keep things as they are. Here's what happened in this big case about bank fraud.
Rahul Surana, a 36-year-old from Chennai, filed a request against the Assistant Director of the Directorate of Enforcement. He wanted to change a previous court decision.
The case is about Surana Industries Limited, which allegedly came up with a plan to trick public sector banks out of a huge amount of Rs. 1,301 Crores. The plan involved fake companies and fake transactions to move money around and hide it in properties.
"Surana Industries Limited orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to defraud public sector banks of Rs.1,301 Crores through misappropriation, fraud, and manipulation of accounts."
The Enforcement Directorate filed a complaint against multiple people back in 2022. Rahul Surana wasn't initially named, but later, he was added as Accused No. 42 in an additional complaint.
Rahul Surana argued that he wasn't given a chance to defend himself before the court officially recognized the additional complaint. However, the judges explained that since the main complaint was already acknowledged, the additional one didn't need a new hearing.
Cognizance means the court officially recognizes a case. The judges explained that it's about recognizing the wrongdoing, not necessarily the person who did it.
"Cognizance is taken of the offence and not of the offender."
Rahul Surana's lawyers claimed that the evidence against him was old news. But the Enforcement Directorate said they had new material from a Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) complaint, which was filed after the initial investigations.
Judges S. M. Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq decided that the additional complaint was valid. They dismissed Rahul Surana's appeal and said the trial should go on without being affected by their observations.
"For the reasons aforesaid, we find that the impugned order... need not be interfered with."
In short, the court is moving forward with the case, and Rahul Surana's challenge has been turned down.
