Chennai Spl Court Remands Ravi Parthasarathy to Police Custody in Rs 1L cr IL&FS Scam

CHENNAI:
A special court has remanded Ravi Ramaswami Parthasarathy to a three-day police custody in the Rs 1-lakh crore Infrastructure Leasing and Finance Limited (IL&FS) scam, which triggered a liquidity crisis in the financial services market in 2018.

In the court of the special judge under Tamil Nadu Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishment) Act, 1997, the EOW-Chennai said the custodial interrogation may reveal various crucial facts which are in his exclusive domain, being the key managerial personnel directly involved and in-charge of the affairs of IL&FS scam and active conspirator in this entire case.

“This is a mammoth scam involving huge sums of monies which have been siphoned off/diverted by the accused in connivance with other persons.”

“His personal remand is the need of the hour and in the interest of investigation under the offence of Tamil Nadu Protection of Interest of Depositors, 1997 and other IPC offences, to secure the ends of justice,” said the EOW-Chennai remand note.

Seeking the remand of Ravi Parthasarathy from the Court of the Special Judge under Sections 420, 409, 120B r/w 109 IPC, the EOW termed the case as “…one of the biggest economic frauds in the history of our country”.

“The IL&FS group has defaulted in payments to various creditors through a calculated fraud and the total default caused to the entire creditors is approximately a mind-boggling figure of 1 lakh crore,” the remand note added.

“Considering the nature, gravity, seriousness and magnitude of the case, this court is of view that police custody has to be ordered in the interest of justice in order to facilitate the Investigating Agency to effectively investigate the case further,” the special judge said while granting a three-day police remand of the accused from June 16.

The Economic Offences Wing of Chennai police (EOW-Chennai) had arrested the kingpin and the mastermind of the scam from Mumbai on June 9 on the basis of a complaint filed by 63 moons technologies limited. On June 14, Ravi Parthasarthy was sent to judicial custody for 15 days.

Parthasarathy, who is said to be a close confidant of former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, is accused of using IL&FS, which consists of more than 350 group companies, as a vehicle to perpetrate a huge fraud, floating non-convertible debentures (NCD) to collect deposits from investors offering the lure of high returns and siphoning of illegally several hundred crores of rupees.

After avoiding several summons by the EOW-Chennai, Parthasarathy had moved the Madras High seeking an anticipatory bail and quashing of FIR filed against him under various sections. The Madras High Court quashed his half-baked defence of ill-health and ceasing to be the chairman of IL&FS with effect from 2017, paving the way for EOW-Chennai to take him into custody.

Making a very hard-hitting statement, the remand note pointed out that the Union of India had to intervene since the activities of the IL&FS group affected the interests of the economy of India. The companies were set up as a vehicle of fraud and innocent depositors were cheated and their livelihood taken away by virtue of the fraud committed by Parthasarathy, who it termed “Kingpin and Mastermind”.