EC evidence against Harshad, 2 others

MUMBAI, MARCH 14: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday led evidence at the 3rd metropolitan court against Big Bull Harshad Mehta, J...

MUMBAI, MARCH 14: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday led evidence at the 3rd metropolitan court against Big Bull Harshad Mehta, Jairaj Java and Niranjan Shah in a case of alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) involving six lakh US dollars. The money was allegedly used in the security scam in the early 1990s.

In a related development, the ED filed a revision application before the first additional principal judge A J Dholakia against the order passed by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Usha Iyer which refused to issue process against the trio in second of the two complaints filed by the ED. The ED, basically, had filed two complaints; the first on March 8, 1998 naming the trio in the FERA violation case and the second on February 29 this year, naming the three this time naming Mehta’s three brothers as well. The charges of the two complaints were the same. Arun Gupte, counsel for the ED, had told the court that the first complaint suffered from `infirmities’ and therefore the second complaint was lodged.

The court held that process cannot be issued against Mehta and his two associates already named in the first complaint. Process was however issued against Mehta’s three brothers viz, Sudhir, Hitesh and Ashwin.

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Judge Dholakia admitted the revision application but refused to order stay on the proceedings on the old complaint on the grounds that such prayer was not before him in the ED’s complaint. The application made before Judge Dholakia will be heard next on March 22.

Gupte today urged the court to adjourn the matter till the application was heard at Judge Dholakia’s court. In event of the sessions court allowing the fresh (second of the two) complaint he would have to withdraw the old complaint. The plea was rejected by Magistrate Iyer on the grounds that the Supreme Court had ordered an expeditious hearing of the case. Gupte further pleaded for time to appeal against the court’s decision to not adjourn the matter in the High Court. This plea was also rejected by the Magistrate. The magistrate ordered Gupte to get evidence on the old complaint. ED official Johnson George was examined today.

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