Hyderabad: Former Congress MP Vundavalli Arun Kumar on Monday urged Telangana high court to issue directions to the authorities to ensure that he gets access to the names and addresses of the depositors of Margadarsi Financiers whose deposits were lying unclaimed in an escrow account in the last one-and-a-half decades.
He made this appeal before a bench of Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwara Rao that was hearing a criminal petition filed by the firm to quash the criminal case registered against it in 2008 on grounds of collecting deposits from people without any licence or permission contrary to section 45-S of the RBI Act.
The combined high court in Dec 2018 quashed this case stating that the ‘association of individuals’ referred to in section 45-S cannot be equated with the members of a Hindu undivided family. Arun Kumar challenged this order in Supreme Court which remanded the matter to Telangana high court to adjudicate the matter afresh after hearing the contentions of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana along with RBI and the aggrieved depositors, if any.
Stating that he would assist the court in arriving at just conclusions, Arun Kumar made a request before the court seeking access to escrow depositors’ details. “They are all unidentified depositors. Give me an opportunity to identify them,” he said. The bench said that it will start the final hearing from Nov 7 during which it will take a decision on the request made by former MP.
Appearing for Margadarsi, senior counsel Sidharth Luthra alleged that the former MP was hurling allegations after each hearing and the media has been carrying one-sided versions. He sought a gag order against the media till the conclusion of hearing in the case. The bench posted the case to Nov 7.
The former MP said he has not addressed the media in the last three months, and that he cannot be held responsible for the coverage of open court hearings
He made this appeal before a bench of Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwara Rao that was hearing a criminal petition filed by the firm to quash the criminal case registered against it in 2008 on grounds of collecting deposits from people without any licence or permission contrary to section 45-S of the RBI Act.
The combined high court in Dec 2018 quashed this case stating that the ‘association of individuals’ referred to in section 45-S cannot be equated with the members of a Hindu undivided family. Arun Kumar challenged this order in Supreme Court which remanded the matter to Telangana high court to adjudicate the matter afresh after hearing the contentions of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana along with RBI and the aggrieved depositors, if any.
Stating that he would assist the court in arriving at just conclusions, Arun Kumar made a request before the court seeking access to escrow depositors’ details. “They are all unidentified depositors. Give me an opportunity to identify them,” he said. The bench said that it will start the final hearing from Nov 7 during which it will take a decision on the request made by former MP.
Appearing for Margadarsi, senior counsel Sidharth Luthra alleged that the former MP was hurling allegations after each hearing and the media has been carrying one-sided versions. He sought a gag order against the media till the conclusion of hearing in the case. The bench posted the case to Nov 7.
The former MP said he has not addressed the media in the last three months, and that he cannot be held responsible for the coverage of open court hearings
