India
ED fails to respond to notice, SC grants bail to accused in Rs 6,000 crore Ponzi scam | India News – Times of India
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustinus George Masih refused to give ED more time to respond to the plea of M Muthukumara suspect in a Rs 6,000-crore Ponzi scam. According to the court, sufficient time has been given to the agency.
In this case, notice was issued by the court on September 6 and the agency was directed to file a response by October 21, giving it 45 days to respond.
The court also granted provisional protection to the suspect that day.
When the case was heard in October, the agency asked for more time. The court accepted the plea, granted more time and directed to file a response by November 29.
When the matter was listed for hearing on Friday, the ED counsel told the court that his reply was almost ready and sought two more days to file it.
However, the court rejected the agency’s plea. “The defendant has earlier sought time and it has been granted. The defendant has been given ample time to file a response. Appeal is allowed and the interim order has been made final,” the court said.
Muthukumar had approached the apex court through his lawyer Kiran Kumar Patra after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected twice by the Madras High Court.
Granting him relief, the Supreme Court noted that the accused had cooperated in the investigation and also provided all the documents sought by ED in the case after being granted interim protection.
In this case, LNS International Financial Services Ltd and its various directors are alleged to have defrauded the general public under the guise of investing money in the stock market. ED alleged that the petitioner had benefited from the proceeds of the crime.
After registering FIR, police had raided the suspects’ premises and found that over one lakh people had invested amounts worth Rs 6,000 crore in a Ponzi scheme of the company.
