SC upholds attachment of Harshad Mehta's properties

The Supreme Court today upheld the attachment of over Rs 1,000 crore worth property belonging to stock broker and scamster Harshad Mehta in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra.

A bench of justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan upheld the contention of the government that the properties needed to be attached as they were parts of the various benami deals and transactions resorted to by Mehta, who gained notoriety in the '90s following the infamous multi-crore stock market scam.

The apex court rejected the plea of Mehta's wife Jyoti and their two daughters that there was no illegality in the properties purchased by Mehta and were not part of the funds diverted from his ill-gotten wealth.

The family had further claimed that their properties were being sought to be attached without prior notice to them.