The Delhi High Court has refused to grant interim relief to Experion Developers, allowing a fraud investigation related to the acquisition of Dignity Buildcon's assets to proceed.
The Delhi High Court has declined to grant interim relief to Gurugram-based Experion Developers Private Limited and its co-petitioner, who sought quashing of an FIR registered against them by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police on charges of fraud, an official said on Saturday.
Justice Girish Kathpalia on Friday expressly refused to stay the investigation.
Noting that the investigation is at a nascent stage, the court observed that it was not inclined to stay the probe without hearing both sides at length. It directed the investigators to file a status report within four weeks, the official said.
The petitioners had additionally sought a "no-coercive-step" order, which could temporarily protect them from police action such as arrest or investigation during ongoing proceedings.
The court refused to grant this relief as well.
It merely clarified that pendency of the petition would not prevent the petitioners from filing separate appropriate proceedings, if so advised.
The FIR arises from the corporate insolvency process of Dignity Buildcon Pvt Ltd, which owned approximately 9.1 acres of prime land in Sector 62, Golf Course Extension Road, Gurugram, a property independently valued at over Rs 630 crore.
The Enforcement Directorate, which has attached the property as part of a money laundering probe, is investigating whether Experion Developers had manipulated Dignity Buildcon's resolution process to allow acquisition of this asset at a fraction of its market value through a series of structured financial flows.
Experion Developers, which emerged as the successful resolution applicant in the Dignity Buildcon insolvency process, is alleged to have acquired the corporate debtor and the land vested with it for a nominal consideration of Rs 1 plus Rs 47 crore in non-convertible debentures.
The company is also alleged to have structured a circular financial flow of approximately Rs 445 crore through its related entities.
The net economic cost to the acquirer, Experion Developers, is alleged to have been negligible relative to the underlying asset value.
Counsel for the ED informed the court that the FIR, registered on March 23, is at an early and active stage of investigation.
The probe agency also disclosed that it has already filed an application before the appropriate forum for recall of the resolution process, though notice on that application is yet to be issued.