A Special CBI Court in Delhi has granted release to a man who was designated a proclaimed offender over 18 years ago in connection with a 20-year-old fraud case, stating that his conduct of evading “due process of law for over two decades dis-entitles” him any mercy [CBI v. Ramesh Chander Upadhyay].
Surinder S Rathi, a Special CBI Judge, further remarked that the allegations of forgery and fraud levelled against the defendants are “more than a quarter-century old.”
The accused’s conduct of dodging the due process of law for nearly two decades disqualifies him from requesting bail at this time when the case against him is still in the pre-charge stage. The bail application made by the applicant/accused Ramesh Chander Upadhyay does not have merit in my opinion. “As a result, the same is dismissed,” the Court stated in a judgement dated September 20, 2021.
The individual was charged in a case involving allegedly bogus insurance claims and the issuance of seven cheques totalling $9.18 lakh by the defendants.
The method of operation was described as modifying the inspection sheets, voucher copy, and substituting them with phoney documents to make multiple payments on claims that had already been dealt with. It was also claimed that the checks were put in bogus accounts.
The current defendant was suspected of being involved in one such case, in which a check was cashed through him and a phoney account was opened.
The alleged crime was committed in 1994, and the accused has been said to have “absconded and evaded” arrest in the case since the FIR was filed in 1999. On February 26, 2003, a judge designated him a proclaimed offender. Ramesh Chander Upadhyay had been a proclaimed offender in the case for 18.5 years when he was arrested on July 22, 2021, according to court records.
It was also revealed that the trial took proceeded without him and that five people, including his brother, were found guilty.
The man’s defence attorney maintained that he was unaware of the case against him, despite the fact that he was implicated in it. The man was also stated to have no previous criminal record.
The CBI lawyer emphasised that the individual had evaded capture for nearly two decades and had been declared a proclaimed offender by the court. The special court found “no substance” in his claim that he was unaware of the case’s status because his brother was on trial.
“Even though the accused was living in Delhi, he was clearly hiding and waiting for the outcome of the case.” CBI was only able to locate and arrest the applicant/accused 10 years after the judgement of conviction was recorded on October 31, 2011,” according to the ruling.
The accused were represented by Advocate Rajkumari, while the CBI was represented by Public Prosecutor Jyoti Solanki.
