After a 15-year trial, Bengaluru man sentenced to 7 years for Rs 1.14 crore BDA site ‘fraud’

The trial lasted nearly 15 years, during which the prosecution examined 29 witnesses. Three prosecution witnesses, including the complainant N Sreedaran, died during the trial.

“It is noticed that the offence which is committed by the accused could be termed as white collared offence, which bleeds the economy of the nation. Further, the maxim “Nullum crimen sine lege”, which means the principle of legality in the rule of construing criminal statute, is to be in favour of citizens, and also the approach should be towards the social welfare,” Judge Bali said in the order.

“The Hon’ble Apex Court has also specifically laid down the dictum that the Court has to consider the cry of the victim at the time of imposing punishment. It is also held that the society at large is the sufferer due to the commission of a white-collar offence by the accused person. When the aforesaid aspect is applied to the case at hand, it indicates that the accused had induced the witnesses in the above case to part with a huge amount of money. It is to be appreciated that the accused had chosen the persons who had faith and had made them part with money under the pretext of providing BDA sites.”

According to the prosecution, Michael introduced himself to Sridharan as the personal secretary of then chief minister N Dharam Singh, claiming to have political and administrative influence to secure BDA sites under the CM’s quota. He subsequently lured eight other victims with the same promise, collecting Rs 1,14,39,708 from them.

To support his claims, he provided forged documents, including sale deeds, lease-cum-sale agreements, and allotment letters. The fraud came to light when the complainant verified the documents with the BDA and found them to be fake.

An FIR was registered at Ramamurthy Nagar police station in 2010, and the case was later taken over by the CID’s Economic Offences Cell. Investigators recovered a laptop, a printer, and rubber seals allegedly used to forge documents. Forensic analysis of the signatures and documents confirmed the fabrication.

Michael was also convicted in April 2024 in a separate case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.