Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Session Judge M. S. Tiwari on Wednesday granted pre-arrest bail to the board of directors of the Kannad Urban Co-op Credit Society in a case involving alleged financial irregularities. The case claimed loans were issued without proper procedures, resulting in a total fraud of Rs 87.23 lakh.
The directors argued that all loan amounts have been recovered with interest, and the society did not suffer any loss. Depositors were paid on time, and they maintained that the MPID and BADS laws do not apply in this matter.
Nature of alleged crime
Auditor Sheikh, on behalf of the Cooperative Department, audited the society for April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, and reviewed 2022–23 loan accounts. The report cited unauthorized loan distributions, exemptions to certain borrowers, and irregularities in ‘linking shares,’ leading to the alleged Rs 87.23 lakh fraud. A case was filed under IPC sections 409, 406, 420 read with 34, and Section 146 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act. The Economic Offences Wing invoked Sections 3 and 4 of the MPID Act and Sections 21 and 22 of the BADS Act for further investigation.
Pre-arrest bail application
The directors, through advocate Abhishek Bankar, claimed the audit report conflicted with facts and violated cooperative law procedures. They argued that filing the case while appointing an administrator was a tactic to harass and detain them. Advocate Onkar Shendkar assisted in the bail proceedings.