The Bombay High Court on Friday issued notice to the State of Maharashtra on a plea filed by Rashesh Shah, chairman of Edelweiss Group, and Raj Kumar Bansal, chief executive officer of Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Co.
Shah and Bansal have approached the high court seeking the quashing of an FIR file against them for allegedly abetting art director Nitin Desai's suicide.
The court, however, refused to grant immediate interim protection to them and has agreed to consider their plea on Aug. 18. Bansal and Shah had sought interim relief of 'no coercive steps' and a 'stay on investigation'.
Desai, an art director who worked on various Bollywood films like Lagaan, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Panipat, etc., was found hanging in his Karjat studio on Aug. 2.
His company, ND's Art World Pvt., is currently in insolvency. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal had rejected his appeal against the insolvency just a day prior to his death. His wife, Naina, subsequently filed an FIR before the Khalapur police station on Aug. 4, alleging abetment to suicide against the Edelweiss officials after several voice notes left by the late art director blamed Edelweiss for putting undue pressure on him.
Desai's company borrowed a total of Rs 185 crore from ECL Finance Ltd., a business that the Edelweiss Group promotes, between 2016 and 2018, according to a statement from Edelweiss. The company was admitted to insolvency on July 25 for defaults worth Rs 252 crore.
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