Apex court slams loan defaulters

Setting aside the ruling of the Madras HC, a bench headed by Justice Dalveer Bhandari said: “Prima facie, we are of the opinion that this is one case where adequate material is available on record to proceed against the respondents.’’

The CBI’s bank securities and frauds cell had registered four criminal cases on June 27, 1998, on a written complaint from the Indian Bank.

After investigation, the agency had filed chargesheet before the CBI special court in Chennai in 2000.
The CBI had filed the petition before the apex court challenging the decision of the high court that quashed the charges against the accused, businessmen Ravishankar Prasad and Manohar Prasad, who allegedly cheated the bank of Rs 157 crore.

When the trial was on before the court, Ravishankar Prasad and Manohar Prasad entered into a one-time settlement with  Indian Bank and repaid the amount in 2007. Later, the accused approached the Madras HC seeking an order to quash criminal proceedings against them. The court on April 30, 2008, quashed the proceedings. “In the interest of justice we direct that the trial be now completed as expeditiously as possible. The trial court is directed to conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis, and parties are directed to cooperate with the trial court.