Rs 200 cr extortion case: Delhi HC issues notice on bail pleas of businessman

New Delhi [India], May 29 : The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to Delhi police and Enforcement Directorate (ED) on two bail pleas of Avtar Singh Kochar.
He is accused in the Rs 200 crore Cheating-Extortion and Money Laundering case allegedly involving Sukesh Chandrasekar. This case has sections of MCOCA also.
It is alleged that Kochar received Rs 8-10 crore in cash as commission for Hawala. He has challenged the orders of the trial court denying him regular bail.
His bail plea in the MCOCA case was rejected on July 8, 2022. The bail plea in PMLA case was dismissed on May 4, 2023.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notices to Delhi police and ED. The court directed them to file a reply on the bail pleas. The matter has been listed for hearing on July 10.
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa appeared for Kochar.
Avtar Singh Kochar has moved bail pleas through advocate Mrinal Bharat.
No material/monies were recovered from applicant even though the allegation is that he took Rs 8 to 10 cr. in cash as commission for hawala, the plea submitted.
The accused was arrested on September 14, 2021. Thereafter, the first chargesheet was filed naming Accused. Thereafter, 3 chargesheets have been filed but no new material qua the Accused has been uncovered, it added.
It is stated that the accused is suffering from a heart ailment. He was previously granted interim bail on several occasions.
It is also submitted that No offence of MCOCA was made out against the Applicant since he is not a member of any organized crime syndicate since he did not know the prime accused against whom more than one chargesheet has been filed in the last 10 years.
The allegations against the accused are self-contradictory. The offence of extortion and cheating for the same set of facts cannot be made out. While extortion involves an element of threat and intimidation in the first instance, cheating has an element of dishonest representation. Thus, the starting points for the two offences are different, in the plea submitted.
Moreover, if cheating is in fact the case against the Applicant, then there is no element of threat, intimidation, etc. which is necessary for an offence to be covered under the provisions of MCOCA, it added.
It is submitted that the uncontroverted statements given by the co-accused, including the ones withdrawn, indicate that at best, the Applicant was involved with Deepak Ramnani after the offences alleged in the FIR had been committed.
It is also submitted that the accused's residence was searched, his mobile phone seized, his statements taken, and bank account details also available with Investigating Agency.
No material to show that the Applicant was part of any conspiracy to commit any crimes penalized by the IPC and as mentioned in the FIR.
The investigating agencies have failed to make out any case against the Applicant, the plea stated.