The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to India Infoline Ltd, its managing director and others on a petition filed by the Sanjay Dalmia group trust alleging misappropriation of its funds in June 2008.
A Bench headed by Justice VS Sirpurkar issued notice to India Infoline Ltd, its managing director Nirmal Bhanwarlal Jain, former company secretary Nimish Ramesh Mehta and its directors on a petition filed by GHCL Employees Stock Option Trust.
India Infoline Ltd was represented by senior counsel Harish Salve and advocate Ajay Bhargava.
The trust has challenged the Delhi High Court?s judgement that gave clean chit to the officials but allowed the trial court to proceed against the company.
The high court in December last year had partly quashed the Metropolitan Magistrate?s order summoning the officials to face the trial pursuant to a criminal complaint filed by the trust.
The high court had held that no offence of cheating was made out and barring the company no one else can be proceeded against by the trial court as accused.
According to senior counsel MN Krishnamani, appearing for the trust, the high court had erred by not appreciating that the allegations against the top brass in the criminal complaint were not based on any vicarious liability but on the specific allegations of their having conspired together to cheat and commit criminal breach of trust.
The petition stated that GHCL under its trust deed was to advance money to the GHCL employees stock option trust from time to time to carry out objective of the ESOS scheme.
The trustees in September 2007 had opened a D-Mat account with India Infoline Ltd, which was to buy shares on the trust?s behalf and transfer the same into its account free of any lien.
India Infoline had informed the trust that there was an outstanding of Rs 10.48 crore and had asked it to clear the alleged debit of five companies ? Carissa Investment Pvt Ltd, Altar Investments, Oval Investments, Dalmia Housing Finance and Dear Investment, it said.
However, the accused had in June 2008 had sold off 8,76,668 shares in the open market even after the trust in May 2008 had informed the brokers that under the SEBI regulations there was no provision permitting the sale of shares of ESOS trust to clear the dues of other entities.
This, according to the petition, had lead to huge monitory loss as the shares were kept with the accused for dematting purpose and the accused had no lien on the shares.
The trust had filed a criminal complaint against the accused, its directors and the company secretary for conniving with each other so as to cheat and misappropriate Rs 9 crores on the pretext of some unaccounted debts.
