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Journalism of Courage
This is an archive article published on August 8, 2023
Nitin Desai suicide: Rashesh Shah, RK Bansal of Edelweiss group move Bombay HC seeking to quash FIR for ‘abetment’
Art director Nitin Desai was found dead on August 2. An audio note left behind by him blamed Rashesh Bansal and Raj Kumar Shah for his poor financial condition, according to the police.
The police then sent notice to the managing director of ECL Finance, seeking information on various aspects pertaining to loans sanctioned to Nitin Desai. (Express File Photo)
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Nitin Desai suicide: Rashesh Shah, RK Bansal of Edelweiss group move Bombay HC seeking to quash FIR for ‘abetment’
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Rashesh Shah, Chairman of Edelweiss Financial Services and Raj Kumar Bansal, the MD and CEO of Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company Limited, have approached the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the FIR filed against them for allegedly abetting art director Nitin Desai’s suicide. Pending the hearing of their plea, the two have also sought interim relief of ‘no coercive action’ and that the probe be stayed until then.
National award-winning art director Desai was found dead in his studio on August 2. An audio note left behind by him blamed Bansal, Shah and three others for his poor financial condition, according to the police. His wife Neha subsequently submitted a written complaint to the Raigad police in Maharashtra and an FIR was filed at Khalapur police station on August 4 against the five people under sections 306 (abetment to suicide) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
ECL Finance is a non-banking finance arm of the Edelweiss Group which had lent Rs 181 crore to Desai’s firm ND’s Art World between 2016 and 2018.
The police then sent notice to the managing director of ECL Finance, seeking information on various aspects pertaining to loans sanctioned to Nitin Desai. The MD asked also to be present at the police station to submit the information by August 8.
Shah and Bansal, in their pleas filed on August 7, claimed that they were merely following the official and legal process of recovery and the FIR against them was uncalled for and there was no abetment to suicide. Senior Advocate Amit Desai mentioned the pleas before a bench led by Justice Nitin W Sambre on Monday seeking they should be heard urgently on Tuesday. However, the Justice Sambre-led bench is not available for judicial work on Tuesday. The petitioners are likely to mention the pleas before an alternate bench.
On July 25, the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) initiated Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against ND’s Art World Private Limited (NDAWPL) in view of an outstanding debt of Rs 252.48 crore. The bench also appointed Jitender Kothari as the interim resolution professional to carry out the steps mentioned under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016. On August 1, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) dismissed Desai’s appeal against the NCLT order, paving the way for insolvency proceedings against his firm.
In its stock exchange filing, the company said, “…We would like to place on record the following facts, which will establish that there was no wrongdoing of any nature. Shri Nitin Desai was the promoter of NDAWPL, which had obtained loans of Rs 150 crore and Rs 35 crore in 2016 and 2018 respectively from ECL Finance Ltd (ECLFL).”
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The company had claimed that the loans were merely given towards capital expenditure for the theme park and partly for repayment of existing debt, general corporate purposes and working capital needs. Edelweiss added that while the firm was given financial assistance at prevailing market rates, “NDAWPL encountered financial difficulties in 2019 and went into default thereafter.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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