New Delhi: Former cricketer and current head coach of Team India Gautam Gambhir has got a big relief from Delhi High Court in a case wherein home buyers were reportedly cheated.
Delhi High Court on Monday stayed the order of the Sessions Court that had cancelled the Magistrate Court order to acquit Gambhir in a case involving home buyers of real estate company Rudra Buildwell Reality Private Limited. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri's bench ordered to set aside the Sessions Court order.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Gambhir, said the petitioner has a clean image and was the company's brand ambassador. He informed that Gambhir is on Australia tour with the Indian cricket team and urged that he should not be harassed by the ED.
The lawyer appearing for ED opposed Gambhir's petition, alleging that he received money even after resigning from the real estate company.
Notably, on October 29, the Sessions Court of Rouse Avenue Court had stayed the order of the Magistrate Court. Special Judge Vishal Gogne, while reverting the case to the Magistrate Court, directed that it should issue a fresh order on framing charges against Gambhir and it should contain detailed information of the charges against each accused in the case.
Earlier on December 10, 2020, the Magistrate Court of Rouse Avenue Court had acquitted Gambhir of the charges of cheating home buyers of Rudra Buildwell Reality Private Limited. When this case was going on in the Magistrate Court, Gambhir was an MP so it was heard in the Rouse Avenue Court.
Delhi Police had filed a chargesheet against Gautam Gambhir in Saket Court in September 2019. Gambhir was the brand ambassador of Rudra Buildwell Reality Private Limited at that time and was accused of cheating the flat holders. Apart from Gambhir, Delhi Police had named company promoters Mukesh Khurana, Gautam Mehra and Babita Khurana as the other accused. A case was also registered against Gambhir under Section 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code.
The company is accused of taking money from flat holders in Gambhir's name. The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) has filed a case on the complaint of flat holders. It has been alleged in the petition that the company took money from investors by capitalising on Gambhir's name but did not handover the flats. Home buyers have complained that they had booked flats in a real estate project of the company in Ghaziabad's Indirapuram in 2011, but they did not get their flats.
The Delhi Police chargesheet states that the company kept procrastinating till 2014 even after promising to handover the flats on June 6, 2013. On April 15, 2015, the officials cancelled the approval of the project.
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