Court to hear arguments on closure report in DDCA funds misappropriation case on Dec 22

A Delhi court said it would hear on December 22 arguments on whether to accept the police closure report in a case relating to alleged misappropriation of funds and forgery in the Delhi and District Cricket Association by some of its office bearers.

Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra, who had earlier reserved the order on the issue, granted one last opportunity to the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) for filing its written submissions.

"In the interest of justice, one last and final opportunity granted to the DDCA for filing of written submissions. Put up for further arguments on point of consideration on cancellation report on December 22," the court said.

The court had in October reserved its order in the matter, but later allowed hearing after the counsel for DDCA sought some more time to file their submissions.

While the FIR was lodged in November 2015, the Delhi Police had filed a closure report in the court in 2016, saying it has found no evidence of misappropriation of funds in the DDCA.

"There is no evidence on record to suggest any wrongful loss to DDCA by opening this account in the Central Bank and also by transfer of the amount from the other bank accounts of DDCA into this account," the closure report had said.

The Delhi Police had registered an FIR against Ravinder Manchanda and Chetan Chauhan, office bearers of the sports body of DDCA for the alleged offences of criminal breach of trust, cheating, impersonation and forgery in documents.

The FIR was lodged on a complaint by DDCA Director and former cricketer Sunil Dev.

The FIR had accused Manchanda and Chauhan, an Uttar Pradesh minister, of criminal conspiracy along with another senior official of the Central Bank of India for illegally opening a bank account by forging signatures of Dev.

It had also alleged that after opening the bank account, they had illegally transferred Rs 6.5 crore into the account and got fixed deposits (FDR) worth Rs 4.5 crore.

However, the police had said in its closure report that Dev has given a written statement saying the complaints were filed by him due to a misunderstanding with regard to the resolution of the company and now he has seen the records and submitted that the bank account was validly open.

Police had said Dev has stated that he wished to withdraw the complaint unconditionally against these persons.

Chauhan had also given a written statement to the police stating that the complaint filed by Dev was wrong and was outcome of a misunderstanding.

The FIR had alleged that office bearers in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy had "forged documents, committed impersonation, illegally influenced decisions of bank officials to open a bank account even without the formalities being complete, made false statements, siphoned Rs 6.50 crore in the bank accounts, issued blank cheques" among other illegal acts.

It had alleged that the illegal account was opened and funds were mobilised to help one of the office bearers' wife, who was working as a high official in the same bank where the illegal account was opened in utter violation of RBI norms and guidelines.

"The FDR were prepared for denominations of such amounts which fetched lesser interest. The details of the FDR prepared and the interest rate prevailing in the market would clearly reveal that the accused deliberately made the sports body suffer loss of interest and illegal motives," it had said.

After the matter came to light, the sports body had lodged a complaint with the bank's chairman who stopped operation of the bank account and constituted an internal enquiry into the matter.