Arrest of Beed co-op credit society directors 'illegal': Maharashtra court

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A court here on Saturday declared as illegal the arrest of two directors of Dnyanradha Cooperative Multi-State Credit Society in Maharashtra’s Beed district in a cheating case and directed that they be freed if not wanted in any other matter.

The Beed police had arrested the bank’s chairman Suresh Kute and joint director Ashish Patodekar from Hinjawadi near Pune on June 7 for allegedly duping depositors. They were in police custody till June 13.

The duo was under house arrest for the past two days as the court could not decide on the police plea seeking further remand due to multiple applications filed by the accused challenging their arrest.

After hearing both sides, B G Dharmadhikari, Additional Sessions Judge, Majalgaon, ruled that the arrest of Kute and Patodekar was “illegal”. “They be set at liberty forthwith if not required in any other crime,” he said in the order.

Advocates Aman Kacheria and Rahul Agarwal who represented the two accused submitted before the court that the arrest of their clients was illegal and bad in law.

They said the arrests violated the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court as the investigation officer nabbed the two without stating “reasons and/or grounds for arrest”.

They argued that the bank directors’ police custody violated their fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.

The Majalgaon City police had registered a case against the two bank directors under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (common intention) and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act.

The action followed a complaint by a farmer who claimed that he had a fixed deposit of around Rs 3.5 lakh with the society but did not get his money back on maturity.