HDFC Bank CEO Jagdishan Moves Bombay High Court, Seeks To Quash Lilavati Trust's Bribery FIR
The case was heard by a division bench of Justice Rajesh S Patil and Justice AS Gadkari.
HDFC Bank Ltd.'s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Sashidhar Jagdishan approached the Bombay High Court to quash a first information report filed against him on Wednesday.
An FIR was filed by the Mumbai police last month on a complaint filed by Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, alleging that Jagdishan took a bribe of Rs 2.05 crore to harass family members of one of the trust's members. The FIR was directed by the Bombay Magistrate after the trust sought judicial intervention.
The case was heard by a division bench of Justice Rajesh S Patil and Justice AS Gadkari, according to details available on the high court's website. The petition will now be heard on June 23.
HDFC Bank has previously claimed that the FIR was frivolous and filed only to defeat legal proceedings the bank has entered to recover loans from the Mehta family, who owned Beautiful Diamonds.
"The allegations and insinuations made by the trustees are devoid of any iota of truth whatsoever. Neither the bank nor its MD & CEO have engaged in any activity that is illegal, unethical or improper," the bank had said in a statement on June 11.
Prashant Mehta, who is currently a trustee on the Lilavati Trust, is the son of late Kishor Mehta, who owned Beautiful Diamonds. The company had defaulted on loans extended by HDFC Bank, due to which the bank has been pursuing recovery measures. Prashant is also the brother of Rajesh Mehta, who is also one of the people being pursued by the bank for the recovery of loans.
"These claims, allegedly instigated by its Managing Director and CEO, Sashidhar Jagdishan, are part of a deliberate smear campaign aimed at discrediting the Trust and deflecting attention from the serious and well-documented corruption charges that Jagdishan now faces, including charges of misappropriation of funds, bribery, etc.," the Lilavati Trust had said in a statement on June 8.
The Lilavati Trust has claimed that it has uncovered a diary entry by a former trustee, Chetan Mehta, which showed that Rs 2.05 crore was paid to Jagdishan. This, the trust now claims, was done so Jagdishan may harass the Kishor Mehta's family members. The Bombay magistrate had directed the police to file an FIR and investigate the validity of the allegations.
"We reserve all rights to pursue appropriate legal remedies, including but not limited to recovery, enforcement and defamation proceedings against the erring parties," the bank had said in its statement.
