Guj HC junks Vipul Chaudhary's plea against recovery notice

In a setback to the former chairman of Mehsana-based Dudhsagar Dairy, Vipul Chaudhary, the Gujarat High Court today dismissed his plea against a notice for recovery of Rs 41.83 crore, which the dairy had lost due to his alleged corrupt practises.

A division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi dismissed Chaudhary's plea against the notice issued by the Registrar of Cooperatives in June 2016.

The bench stayed the execution of its order till July 15, so that he could file an appeal in the Supreme Court.

Chaudhary, who was sacked as the chairman of Dudhsagar Dairy in March 2015, approached the division bench after a single judge of the high court dismissed his petition.

The notice of recovery was issued following an internal audit showing a loss of Rs 41.83 crore to the dairy.

The Registrar held him accountable on three grounds - supply of cattlefeed worth Rs 22 crore to Maharashtra, purchase of sugar worth Rs 17 crore, and huge shortfall of stock in the dairy during his tenure.

The division bench had allowed the Registrar to continue its inquiry into the alleged loss of Rs 22 crore due to Chaudhary's decision of supplying cattlefeed to the neighbouring state.

The High Court had stayed inquiry in two other charges till the matter was disposed of.

During a past hearing, officials informed the court that the inquiry found substance in the internal audit report which held Chaudhary responsible for incurring a loss of Rs 22 crore by supplying cattlefeed to Maharashtra.

In 2014, Chaudhary was sacked as chairman of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which markets its products under the Amul brand, following a 'no-confidence motion' against him.