Former NCP MLA Ramesh Kadam's bail plea rejected by Mumbai court
India Today
A case was registered against former NCP MLA Ramesh Kadam in 2015 regarding a scam related to Sahityaratna Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Development Corporation. Since then, the MLA has been lodged in prison.
A special court in Mumbai has rejected the bail application of former NCP MLA Ramesh Kadam who was allegedly involved in a scam revolving around Sahityaratna Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Development Corporation (SLASDC). The case against him was registered in 2015 at Dahisar police station in Mumbai and since then Kadam has been lodged in prison.
On the question raised in the Maharashtra Assembly, an inquiry was initiated on the orders of the government to find out the illegalities and embezzlement in SLASDC, which is formed for the economic upliftment of backward classes by providing education loans and margin money, etc.
In 2012, Kadam was appointed as Chairman of SLASDC by the Maharashtra government for three years and was removed in 2014. The accusation is that he had misused and abused his position as Chairman of SLASDC for personal benefit and, by creating false documents, misappropriated an amount of Rs 312.26 crores of SLASDC between 2012 and 2014. The chargesheet and supplementary charge sheet were filed before the court.
In the meantime, nine FIRs on embezzlement in SLASDC were registered in Maharashtra. Later, seven cases were consolidated and brought together for trial in Mumbai court.
Advocate Niteen Pradhan appeared for Kadam and argued that the State/CID has no power to register and investigate the offence punishable under the Prevention and Corruption Act and that Kadam has spent more than six years in jail.
“He is not a public servant and was appointed as a chairman of the corporation for three years only. The Court has not received the record and proceedings in all cases clubbed by the Supreme Court. Thus, the trial would not be concluded in the near future,” argued Pradhan.
Special public prosecutor Pravin Chavan resisted the application and argued that “Kadam was engaged in massive looting of public money along with other accused. The siphoning of funds is routed through dummy cooperative societies, companies and other organisations of the applicant or his associates.”
