The Special Anti-Corruption Court on Thursday rejected second consecutive bail application of former Chairman J&K Cooperative Bank Limited (JKCBL), Muhammad Shafi Dar and other co-accused Hilal Ahmad in Rs 250 crores bank loan fraud case.
After hearing special public prosecutors Ghulam Jeelani, Riaz Ahmad, and defence counsel, the special anti-corruption judge, RN Watal said it has transpired from the police report that the accused facilitated preparation of a false, fabricated and fraudulent registration certificate of so called non-existent cooperative society and fraudulently sanctioned loan of Rs 250 crore to it.
Court observed that earlier bail application of both accused had been rejected and instant successive bail applications have been filed on the same grounds as that of earlier applications with the additional grounds that circumstances have changed.
The court said one of the change in circumstances, the petitioners have projected in the applications, is that the investigation with respect to the petitioners is complete.
“The completion of the investigation vis-à-vis the petitioners does not lessen the accusations/allegations against petitioners being well founded on the material collected by the investigating officer. Same are serious in nature and have effected economy of our Union Territory,” the court said while referring to various provisions of law.
It added that court finds no reason to grant bail to the petitioners on the grounds of change in circumstances/ medical grounds as pleaded in bail applications. “The applications being devoid of any merit are dismissed and shall go to records after due completion,” court said.
As per prosecution, Muhammad Shafi Dar was chairman of JK State Cooperative Bank and Hilal Ahmad Mir was Chairman of a non-existent Cooperative Society under the name and style of River Jhelum Co-operative House Building Society Limited Magarmal Bagh Srinagar.
Both these persons in furtherance of criminal conspiracy with some unknown persons manipulated false and fabricated registration certificate of non-existent cooperative society for sole purpose of their personal benefit.
The petitioner Mohammad Shafi Dar fraudulently sanctioned loan of Rs.250 Crores as financial assistance in favour of cooperative society for taking over 300 Kanals of land located in outskirts of Srinagar for construction of a satellite township throwing the rules, regulations, credit policy of the bank for sanctioning the loan to winds.
“Even the requisite tangible security was not obtained and documents were not scrutinized to test their genuineness. The height of things is that the balance sheet and performance report of the society that was required to be looked into was not ascertained and loan was released.”