Bank fraud from 1986, a conviction 4 decades on: How oldest case in Delhi’s lower courts went through multiple judges

This is the oldest pending criminal case in Delhi’s lower Courts, according to the National Judicial Datagrid.

On January 24, an elderly man dressed in a beige jacket, black pants, and sports shoes held a stack of files under his left arm.

As he slowly stepped towards Kumar’s courtroom, he looked exhausted. This was 78-year-old S K Tyagi, the main accused in the case. After 39 years, he had decided to plead guilty.

“I’m giving you a week to think over your decision,” CJM Kumar told Tyagi as he looked at his application. Tyagi, however, seemed resolute.

On March 20, 1986, the records show, two complaints made by the Regional Manager, Punjab & Sind Bank, New Delhi, and by the Chief Vigilance Officer of the bank alleging fraud were clubbed together by the CBI to register this case. Two years later, a chargesheet was filed against 13 persons.

The allegation was that the accused had caused a loss of Rs 32 lakh to the bank by making fraudulent transactions and illegally depositing money in their own accounts. Tyagi was accused of cheating Punjab & Sind Bank by falsifying the accounts, by making false credit entries, and clearing cheques for payment without there being any money in his account in 1984-85.

On May 28, 2001, 13 years after the chargesheet was filed, the then Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, J P S Malik of Tis Hazari Court, framed charges against all the accused persons under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 477A (falsification of accounts), and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

There is no information available regarding the progress of this case between 2001 and 2019. The Indian Express visited Tis Hazari Court, where this case was going on at that time, but couldn’t locate the case records.

In July 2019, the case was transferred to Rouse Avenue Court. For the last six years, the trial against four accused, including Tyagi, has been going on. Two of the four accused — Subhash Garg and RK Malhotra — have died. While Garg passed away before the case came to Rouse, Malhotra died on April 19, 2021.

On January 29, Tyagi returned to Judge Kumar’s court. His lawyer, M S Arora, accompanied him. Tyagi looked at ease because he had made up his mind. He wanted to plead guilty.

The judge explained to him the implications and consequences of pleading guilty. Tyagi listened patiently. Once the judge stopped, Tyagi consulted his lawyer, murmuring in whispers. A minute later, he reiterated his decision to plead guilty.

Requesting the court for a lenient sentence, Tyagi, a postgraduate in economics, submitted that he was 78 years old and had no source of income. He also told the court that his wife, whose income he is dependent on, has Parkinson’s disease. The fact that the money taken from the bank had been returned to it in the form of a one-time settlement (OTS) was also mentioned by him. “Genuine remorse” for the act and an assurance not to “repeat it in the future” were also relied upon.

Judge Kumar, in his order dated January 28, said: “In the light of the said voluntary plea of guilt, there is no reason to doubt the case of the prosecution. Moreover, there is nothing in the CrPC that prevents the accused persons from pleading guilty at any subsequent stage of the trial… S K Tyagi is hereby convicted…”

“The convict has shown genuine desire to repent, therefore, he must be granted fair opportunity for reformation, so that he can become a useful citizen of the country… Simultaneously, the convict must be awarded such a sentence which discourages other like-minded people… from entering the world of crime,” the judge noted while sentencing Tyagi “till rising of Court” for his involvement in the offences.

Till rising of the court is a sentence that requires an accused person to remain in custody until the court closes for the day. Tyagi was also fined Rs 10,000 for each offence.

Tyagi had spent two days in judicial custody after his arrest at the beginning of the case, according to court records.

With two accused passing away and one pleading guilty, the trial is effectively pending against one person only — Neelu Malhotra. While this might streamline the proceedings, it will not necessarily speed up the trial.

The CBI officers who have worked on the case have changed multiple times. In fact, the premier investigation agency has been run by 25 directors from 1986 to 2024.

The details of the older Public Prosecutors in the case are also not available as no one (including the lawyers of the accused) has been a constant in this case. The CBI is currently being represented by Public Prosecutor Vikas Khatri.