Three directors of embattled real estate firm Amrapali Group were on Tuesday ordered to be taken into police custody by the Supreme Court, which castigated the company for playing “hide and seek” with the court and not complying with its orders to hand over all documents to forensic auditors.
A Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and U. U. Lalit said the directors, Anil Kumar Sharma, Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar, who were present in the court, will remain in police custody till they hand over all documents of the group’s 46 firms.
“What is happening? Why this hide and seek, and blatant violation of the orders of this court,” the Bench asked the counsel appearing for the group. “You are playing with the dignity of this court,” it added.
Auditors Ravi Bhatia and Pawan Kumar Aggarwal, appointed by the court to conduct forensic audit of the Amrapali Group, said they have not yet received all the documents. The Bench termed it as “gross violation” of the court’s order.
‘Surrender passports’
The Bench, however, observed: “We are not arresting them [directors]. It is not a normal arrest. If you want to live with dignity, you hand over the documents immediately.” The court also directed that other directors of the firm shall surrender their passport to the police and would not leave the country.
“What they [auditors] want should be handed over to them without mincing any words and without any delay or we will order their [directors] arrest,” the Bench said. It also asked the group’s counsel to call their directors, who were present in the court, and said: “We will send them to jail right away from here”.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by homebuyers who are seeking possession of around 42,000 flats.
‘Interfering with law’
When the group’s counsel said they had handed over all documents to the auditors, the Bench said: “You are again telling a lie. When they [auditors] are saying that they have not received the documents, you should be the first person to hand over the documents as per orders of this court.”
The Bench also questioned as to why the group has not yet handed over account books of the companies to the auditors.
“The flat buyers are saying that their money has been siphoned off. It can easily be found out from the account books. As of now, nobody knows where the money has gone. You are definitely playing hide and seek with the accounts. The intent is to interfere with the process of law,” the Bench said.
“The design is very clear. You are trying to buy time to do something,” it said, adding: “You are doing it deliberately.”
Account books
When the group’s counsel sought “one last chance” from the court to hand over the documents, the Bench said, “We have given you more than enough time. We have not left any stone unturned to make them comply with our orders”.
The apex court observed that the account books of the group were finalised by their internal and statutory auditors till 2015 only and there were apparently no records since then.
The Bench noted that as per the two auditors, documents of only two of the 46 firms — Amrapali Zodiac and Amrapali Princely Estates — were handed over to them. “This is not only deliberate non-compliance with the order but effort is being made to fritter away the documents,” the court said.
“We find that there is no other way except to direct the police to seize all the documents and hand them over to the forensic auditors after seizing them from the possession of the 46 companies and their directors,” the Bench stated.
The Bench also issued notices to the 46 companies and their directors asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
“We direct the Delhi police as well as the Noida and Greater Noida police to seize all relevant documents,” the court said, adding that the documents sought by Debts Recovery Tribunal in Amrapali’s matter be also seized.
It posted the matter for hearing on October 24.
