High Court rejected the petition filed by Rakesh Shreshtha & two other executive committee members of Aram Nagar Tenant Welfare Association (ANTWA).
The Charity Commissioner will proceed with criminal prosecution against Rakesh Shrestha and others under section 191, 192, 193, 199, 200, 209, 109, 34 of IPC.
The fraud on the court through forged documents aimed at grabbing the project has been exposed.
The petition for an order to issue an arrest warrant against Rakesh Shrestha and others in separate offences of fraud on High Court is pending before the High Court.
In a related case involving a false affidavit, the Supreme Court also dismissed a petition by the same group and directed the High Court to decide on ordering prosecution on the basis of perjury petition under Section 340 of the Cr.P.C. filed before the Supreme Court.
In the said perjury Petition, Avinash Bhosale & Vikas Oberoi are made accused.
Avinash Bhosale was arrested by the ED and CBI on May 26, 2022, and was released on bail on August 28, 2024.
Advocates Nilesh Ojha, Ishwarlal Agarwal, Tanveer Nizam, represented the complainant Paresh Benduir.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court rejected the writ petition filed by the three committee members of Aram Nagar Tenant Welfare Association (ANTWA), which had challenged the order of the Charity Commissioner of Mumbai that called for their prosecution.
Now the office of the Charity Commissioner will proceed to launch a prosecution under sections 191, 192, 193, 199, 200, 209 r/w 34 & 109 of IPC (227, 228, 229, 236, 237, 246, 3(5) & 49 of BNS) against the accused.
On December 14, 2022, the Charity Commissioner ordered prosecution against Rakesh Shrestha, Shabnam Kapoor, and Manoj Mehta for creating forged documents, filing false affidavits, and committing fraud on the court of the Charity Commissioner in a related with the enquiry to disqualify the said Rakesh Shreshtha & other dishonest members.
The operative part of the Charity Commissioner’s order states:
“O R D E R
1) Application is allowed.
2) The respondents viz., Mrs. Shabnam Kapoor, -President, Mr. Rakesh Shreshta, Secretary and Shri Manoj Mehta, Treasurer have prima facie committed the offences under section 191, 192 punishable under section 193, 199, 200, 209 read with 34 and 109 of I.P.C.
3)Superintendent (Litigation) of this Office is directed to file the written complaint against the above respondents before the Metropolitan Magistrate having the jurisdiction for the above offences.
4) Applicant to furnish the full name of the respondents and their residential address to the Superintendent (Litigation).
5) Inform the Superintendent (Litigation) accordingly.
6) Dictated on dais and pronounced in the open court.”
The same group, after facing defeat in other matters related to the same project up to the Supreme Court, filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Hon’ble Supreme Court following the rejection of their petition by the Hon’ble High Court. However, they withdrew their petition after a perjury application was filed under Section 340 of the Cr.P.C.
On February 17, 2023, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court issued the following directions in SLP(C) No. 4428 of 2016:
“5. SLP (C) No…. CC No. 4922/2016 is disposed of as under: –
[…]
(ii) It will also be open for respondent No. 5 whose development agreement has been terminated by the present management/MHADA to challenge the termination of the development agreement and executing the fresh development agreement before appropriate court/forum and the grounds set out in the perjury application(s) may be considered in accordance with law and on its own merits.
6. Present Special Leave Petition (C) No. 4428 of 2016 stands dismissed as withdrawn in terms of the above and with the above observations and Special Leave Petition (C) No… CC No. 4922/2016 also stands disposed of in terms of the above and with the above observations.”
The accused are alleged to have filed false affidavits to benefit builders Avinash Bhosale and Vikas Oberoi in connection with the property at Aram Nagar. Avinash Bhosale had already been arrested by the CBI and ED.
Avinash Bhosale, the mastermind in the case, was arrested by the CBI and ED on dated 28.06.2022, and released on bail on August 28, 2024, after spending 2 years and 2 months in jail. As per Section 120(B) of IPC (Section 61(2) of BNS), he is being made co-accused in all the cases related with Aram Nagar and will now face additional charges of forgery and cheating.
In the Aram Nagar development project, the three persons Rakesh Shreshtha, Shabnam Kapoor, and Manoj Mehta were slapped with new contempt and perjury charges for filing false affidavit before the High Court. The charges levelled against them are under sections 191, 192, 193, 199, 200, 201, 209, 409, 466, 471, 474, 120(B), 34, 109 of IPC & section 2(c) of Contempt of Court Act, 1971. The maximum punishment under section 409 of IPC is imprisonment for life. Said application I.A. (L) No. 16158 of 2023 is kept for pre-admission before the Hon’ble High Court.
BRIEF BACKGROUND OF THE CASE: –
ü The Aram Nagar Tenant Welfare Association is a society of tenants of MHADA property.
ü As per consent terms before the High Court submitted by the MHADA & State Government, the development of the said project was given to East & West Builders.
ü As per MHADA’s affidavit before the Civil Court and as per the report of MHADA’s, V.P. & CEO which was accepted by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, it is clear that the non-cooperative members of the association like Rakesh Shreshtha were trying to delay the project by filing various proceedings in court. Actually, Rakesh Shreshtha’s group lost the battle up to the Supreme Court and now they have withdrawn their SLP after knowing that they are likely to be prosecuted under perjury & Contempt before the Supreme Court.
ü Three Judge Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court by its order dated 17.02.2023 dismissed the petition and directed the Hon’ble High Court to decide the petition on the basis of grounds taken in perjury petition before Supreme Court i.e. application under section 340 of Cr.P.C.
ü In the meantime, the Jt. Charity Commissioner had started enquiry for suspension and removal of Rakesh Shreshtha and others from the membership of the Association who are disqualified to be the members.
ü Rakesh Shreshtha & two others challenged the said order and obtained an order of transfer from the said Jt. Charity Commissioner from the then Charity Commissioner Shri. P. S. Tarare by filing false and misleading affidavit.
ü Thereafter, Executive Committee Member of Association Sh. Paresh Benduir had filed an application under section 340 of Cr.P.C. for prosecution against three guilty members of the Association namely Shri Rakesh Shreshtha, Smt. Sabnam Kapoor & Shri Manoj Mehta.
ü The Charity Commissioner, Mumbai, Shri Mahendra Mahajan, after conducting enquiry found that three accused i.e. Shri Rakesh Shreshtha, Smt. Shabnam Kapoor & Shri Manoj Mehta, have played fraud upon the Charity Commissioner and guilty of filing false and misleading affidavit.
ü The Charity Commissioner ordered prosecution against the three.
ü Said order of the Charity Commissioner was challenged by the accused before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court by filing Writ Petition (L) No. 2851 of 2023.
ü In the said Writ Petition, the accused Shri Rakesh Shreshtha & Ors. have again filed false and misleading affidavit making baseless and scandalous allegations against Judges. Therefore, the complainant Shri Paresh Benduir have filed a perjury application before the High Court bearing I.A. (L) No. 16158 of 2023.
ü After realizing adverse atmosphere, the accused gave up their claim, and due to their conduct, the Hon’ble High Court rejected their Writ Petition by order dated 07.08.2023.
ü So far as the perjury & contempt petition filed by the Complainant is concerned, it is still pending and will be heard before the High Court Bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar.
