Return of chargesheets in Margadarsi case: CID files petition in HC

VIJAYAWADA: The AP-CID filed a petition in the High Court with a plea to cancel the orders of special courts pertaining to the Margadarsi chit funds scam and issue directions to them to accept their cases for hearing.

The CID filed a petition challenging the orders issued by the special courts of Guntur and Visakhapatnam on August 28, to return the charge sheets filed by it with regard to financial irregularities in Margadarsi Chit Funds, maintenance of manipulated records, diversion of funds and cases booked for violation of provisions of some relevant laws, against the chairman Ramoji Rao, managing director Sailaja Kiran, some key persons and employees.

The APCID additional SP filed the petition and made 15 persons, including Ramojia Rao, Sailaja Kiran, auditor K. Sravan, vice-presidents, directors, general manager and branch managers as respondents. The High Court is likely to hear the case next week.

The petition mentioned that the orders issued by the two special courts were almost on similar lines. It also mentioned the irregularities like failure of Margadarsi branch managers to pay the chit fund subscribers even after due time was over and refusal to accept sureties on trivial grounds, withholding payment of prize money by seeking submission of additional securities, failure to pay amount to the subscribers promptly, keeping prize money as deposit with the company and payment of less interest rate and even avoiding payment to the subscribers, which all were violation of section 5 of AP Depositors of Financial Establishment Act.

The petitioner said that the special courts issued orders to return the charge sheets even without hearing the arguments of the special public prosecutor.