Art director Nitin Desai suicide: What we know so far about the court case

Petitioners Raj Bansal and Rashesh Shah had moved the High Court with a petition to quash the first information report (FIR) filed against them for abetting Desai's suicide

The Bombay High Court on August 11 refused to grant immediate relief to Raj Bansal, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Co Ltd, and chairperson, Rashesh Shah, who have been booked for abetting the suicide of art director, Nitin Desai.

Petitioners Bansal and Shah had petitioned the High Court to quash the first information report (FIR) filed against them for abetting Desai's suicide.

Senior Advocate Amit Desai, appearing for the petitioners, requested the court to grant protection from arrest till the next date of hearing. The court, however, refused to grant relief.

In its order, the court said: "Wait for a week. Next week, we will consider it." 

The court will hear the plea for urgent relief on August 18.

On August 11, a division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and R N Laddha issued a notice to Desai's wife, who had filed the FIR against the CEO, chairperson, and two others of the Edelweiss group.

A response in the matter was sought from Desai's wife after chief public prosecutor Aruna Pai told the court that she was a party to the petition. Pai has opposed the petition to quash the FIR, saying that the FIR was filed just eight days ago and the investigation, in this case, was still at a very nascent stage.

Jitendra Kothari, the interim resolution professional (IRP) overseeing insolvency proceedings initiated in respect of Desai's company, also approached the court. Kothari, represented by Senior Advocate Abad Ponda, requested the court to issue directions so that his duties as the resolution professional proceed seamlessly.

Nitin Desai murder case

Bollywood art director Nitin Desai, known for his work on films such as Lagaan and Jodhaa Akbar, was found hanging at his studio in Raigad district in Maharashtra on August 2.

Two days later, on 4 August, his wife lodged a first information report (FIR) with the Khalapur police station, leading to abetment to suicide case against Shah, Bansal, and Kothari under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 306 and section 34.

Desai's company, ND's Art World Pvt Ltd, had defaulted on a significant loan repayment of Rs 252 crore, resulting in insolvency proceedings initiated by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The Edelweiss ARC has denied putting undue pressure on Desai for loan recovery.

Following his death, the investigation by Raigad police revealed 11 audio clips at his office, wherein he criticised a financial services firm his company owed money to. In one clip, he expressed despair over his company's inability to overcome the financial crisis due to the procedure followed by the financial services firm.

Shah and Bansal defended themselves, asserting that they had adhered to official recovery procedures.