Delhi HC denies bail to finance firm employee accused of fraudulent DMAT share transfers

New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) The Delhi High Court has dismissed the regular bail plea of a computer operator accused of fraudulently transferring shares worth over Rs 1.26 crore belonging to 18 clients of a finance company into his own account through forged DMAT transactions.

A single-judge Bench of Justice Girish Kathpalia denied relief to the accused, Varun Arora, in connection with an FIR registered at Rajouri Garden police station under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

As per the prosecution, the accused, while working as a computer operator in a finance company, allegedly transferred shares belonging to 18 clients into his own account by forging their signatures on Delivery Instruction Slips (DIS).

During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the accused argued that there was no allegation of inducement or dishonest intention and contended that the dispute was civil in nature.

It was further submitted that the accused had merely acted in his professional capacity as an employee of the finance company and that no forgery had been committed by him.

It was also argued that since nothing incriminating had been recovered from the possession of the accused, he should not be denied bail.

Opposing the plea, the prosecution argued that the accused had fraudulently transferred shares of 18 people into his own DMAT account, which could not be termed as part of professional services rendered by him.

It was further alleged that the accused forged the signatures of the account holders on the transaction slips and falsely showed the victims as his relatives in official records.

The Delhi High Court was also apprised that WhatsApp chats recovered during the investigation allegedly showed the accused admitting to having swindled away Rs 1.26 crore.

Rejecting the submissions advanced on behalf of the accused, Justice Kathpalia observed: “The professional services cannot extend to granting any benefit to the concerned professional himself.”

“Further, professional services do not extend to forging signatures of the client on the transaction slips, which is the allegation in the present case,” the judge added.

Noting that charges in the matter were yet to be framed, the Delhi High Court said that it would not be appropriate to comment further on the material collected during investigation at this stage.

“But suffice it to record that going by the expanse of the alleged fraud involving 18 persons and stage of trial, this is not a fit case to grant bail,” the order said.

–IANS

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