New Delhi, Sep 1 A Delhi court has denied bail to an individual, accused of orchestrating a fraudulent scheme along with others resulting in the withdrawal of more than Rs 13 crore from the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) through falsified data.
Special Judge Naresh Kumar Laka said that the nature of the crime classified it as a serious offence.
Dismissing the bail application, Judge Laka observed that accused Samir Kumar Paul appeared to have conspired and deceitfully submitted forged claims into the EPFO's computer system, leading to the withdrawal of a substantial amount of money.
He said that the EPFO is an institution serving the interests of the organised private sector's labour force, and therefore, the alleged offences are essentially economic in nature, affecting the welfare of workers.
The judge pointed out that the case involves serious offences under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 467 (forgery of valuable documents) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), coupled with Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), all of which carry the possibility of life imprisonment as punishment.
Given the gravity of the allegations, the court ruled against granting bail to the accused. “In the light of aforesaid observations, specific role played by applicant, involvement of huge defrauded amount of Rs 13 crore of a public sector organization (EPFO) and apprehension that if accused is granted bail, he may flee away from the trial of the case, this court is not inclined to grant bail,” the judge said.
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