FIRs for same offence allow co-op socy directors to get bail

AKOLA: The three First Information Reports (FIR) for the same offence, filed in two separate police stations in the city, resulted in the release on bail of all the directors of Vidarbha Urban Co-Operative Credit Society, which is now bankrupt. The chief judicial magistrate VA Lokhande released all 17 directors on bail of Rs 50,000 each last evening.
The directors released include Madhavrao Patwi, Mohsin Shahidi, Sakaulla Khan, Kashiram Chopde, Pralhad Rakesh, Rajbalisinh Thakur, Narendra Mudiraj, Savita Gautam, Sandhya Saoji, Mohanlal Lohiya, Rashmikant Patel, Vijay Borakhade, Maulikar, Dr Samadhan Dongre, Suresh Manputra, Mahendrasing Saluja etc.
Two FIRs had been lodged at Ramdaspeth police station and one FIR was lodged at Civil Lines police station between 2005 and 2009 regarding the irregularities in the Vidarbha Urban Society. A surprising fact that has come to light is that the FIRs lodged on the basis of the auditors' report suggested that the directors did not indulge in corruption or misappropriation of the funds in the credit society. The report only said the directors have been negligent.
The police investigating agency is reported to have registered offences against the directors under several sections of IPC without verification of the economic offences.
The High Court Bench at Nagpur had given interim bail to the directors after they surrendered before the court of CJM, defence counsel Subhash Thakur said.
The bench had directed the lower court to consider the three FIRs registered for the same offence against the directors, which is totally against normally accepted concepts of law. Advocates Motising Mohta and Mohan Moyal also defended the accused directors.