Mumbai: In the Rs 1 crore cheating case involving Suchit Developers and a widow, both the parties have agreed for an out of court settlement. The Free Press Journal had extensively reported about the alleged fraud dating back to 2015. Both sides refused to disclose the exact settlement figure.
In their submission before the court designated to hear cases lodged under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, the parties vowed that upon compliance with the consent terms, all their disputes and differences regarding the transaction will be settled permanently.
While the five accused – Lachman Sajnani, Anil Sajnani, Dilip Manghnani, Anant Rane and Vikrant Vaidya – have agreed to pay more than Rs1 crore, the complainant, Meena Tawrani, through her son, Jai, has given her nod to quash the FIR and drop the civil suit against them. Notably, the accused have already handed over a substantial amount to Jai in the form of demand drafts and the balance has to be paid within 30 days from their release from jail.
Tawrani's Advocate Ghanshyam Upadhaya said, “During the hearing of the bail pleas of the accused on July 5, their advocates and relatives approached me and Jai for settlement. We accorded our no objection to granting bail to the accused.” As per the consent terms, the accused shall not default on the balance payment for any reason and shall not seek an extension of time.
.jpg)
If the balance amount is not paid within 30 days from their release from jail, they shall surrender before the court and their bail bond shall be automatically cancelled. As the builders are currently in judicial custody, they have instructed their respective counsels to sign consent terms on their behalf. Within three days of their release from jail, the accused shall file consent terms signed by them.
According to the police report, Meena purchased a flat, worth Rs97.1 lakh, next to Jari Mari Mandir from Suchit Developers in 2005. However, despite paying Rs1 crore, she did not receive possession, after which she approached the Bandra police, who initially classified the matter as a civil dispute and refused to register an FIR.
Following the Bombay High Court's intervention, an FIR was registered under the MPID Act as well as sections 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code on April 2, 2023.
Advocate Upadhaya said the cops dragged their feet in arresting the accused, prompting her client to move the designated court. It directed the Mumbai police chief to take action against the investigating officer. Finally, the police arrested the five developers on June 24.
