New Delhi, April 7 Granting interim protection to SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh in a cheating case, the Delhi High Court on Thursday said the dispute between the parties appears to be of a civil nature which could not be finally concluded because of their different interpretations.
Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta while dealing with the anticipatory bail plea of Singh in the case, noted that it cannot be ignored that the petitioner is a Chairman and Managing Director of Spice Jet Airlines and has deep social roots in the society, and has no criminal antecedent except for the FIRs in relation to the transactions referred by the complainant.
The case is a dispute regarding the transfer of 10 lakh shares of SpiceJet.
As per the complainant Sanjiv Nanda, the petitioner (Singh) dishonestly handed over outdated Delivery Instructions Slips (DIS) for the purpose of transfer of shares.
It was also alleged that the petitioner deliberately and dishonestly resisted the transfer of shares in accordance with the Share Purchase Agreements despite the closing dates as settled in the agreements.
On the other hand, the stand of the petitioner is that as per the agreements, the transfer of those shares was contingent upon final outcome of the dispute between him and the erstwhile promoter of the company, and therefore, the shares could not be transferred to the complainant as the dispute is still pending.
After the submissions, the court noted that the complainant, as well as the petitioner, have given different interpretations of the closing date of the transactions with regard to handing over of DI Slips.
The petitioner has already joined the investigation and also filed a detailed reply to the Investigating Officer during the course of the investigation.
Merely because the petitioner has travelled as per the pre-schedule commitment, it cannot be assumed that he is a flight risk, the court observed.
Further, the bench ordered no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner till the next date of hearing and also stayed the non-bailable warrant issued against Singh by the lower court.
However, the court directed the petitioner to join the investigation and to keep the disputed shares secured till further orders.
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