Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Maharashtra School Education Minister Amarish Patel have been accused, along with the entire board of directors of a Mumbai-based firm, by the Unit Trust of India of ‘‘cheating’’ in a financial contract.
Both the ministers deny the charges, with Praful Patel saying he was just the figurehead and the ‘‘non-executive chairman’’ of the firm, Autoriders Finance Limited (AFL).
Amarish Patel, too, said he was not involved in the day-to-day affairs of the company and that it was promoted by his brother, the late Mukesh Patel.
On April 11, 2004, UTI assistant vice-president Vivek Kumar filed a complaint before Metropolitan Magistrate M.S. Belose. The complaint revolves around a Rs 4.5-crore deal with the UTI to subscribe to AFL debentures. UTI has said that apart from ‘‘blatantly violating the conditions of financial assistance’’, AFL’s chairman and directors ‘‘defrauded’’ their creditors and shareholders and diverted the funds to ‘‘personal purpose’’ and to buy immovable properties in Juhu.
All have been accused of cheating (Section 420 of the IPC), criminal breach of trust (Section 406) and criminal conspiracy (Section 120).
Praful Patel said: ‘‘I am not involved in the day-to-day business of the company. Neither am I the promoter or owner of AFL, and as such, there is no liability on me.’’ ‘‘This is a sensitive case,’’ said Kaisar Ahmed, the investigating officer. ‘‘Once the investigations are complete, we will submit the same to the court.’’
Amarish acknowledged the financial assistance from UTI, but said: ‘‘As of now, I don’t know the present financial status of AFL or its office-bearers.’’ UTI has also alleged that AFL ‘‘deliberately and intentionally’’ failed to reply to notices and avoided an inspection of a fleet of vehicles purchased by AFL and hypothecated to UTI. AFL then sold the vehicles without UTI’s permission, the complaint said.
