Beleaguered city-based developer DS Kulkarni (DSK) and his wife Hemanti got temporary relief on Saturday, with special court judge J T Utpat granting them interim anticipatory bail and asking the crime branch to avoid taking them into custody till Tuesday. The court will further decide on the confirmation of the interim bail after hearing the prosecution’s side.
Kulkarni had filed the bail application through their advocates, Shrikant Shivade and Girish Kulkarni. Shivade, who argued on behalf of Kulkarni, denied any fraudulent intention of his client. However, additional public prosecutor (APP) Sunil Hande requested the court to grant him some time to study the documents and evidences submitted by the defense lawyers. The court then granted the interim anticipatory bail till Tuesday, asking the prosecution not to arrest DSK and his wife till further orders.
During the hearing, Shivade argued that the assets with the DSK group are more than the amount of liability they are facing. The liability amount is just Rs 209 crore, but the value of properties is five times more. DSK owns constructions of over 48 lakh square feet, Shivade said, claiming that it won’t be of any use if his client is put behind bars. He added that DSK has all the intention to return the money; so far, he has paid Rs 30 crore to the investors and over 1,600 investors will be paid at regular intervals.
Shivade presented a Bombay High Court (HC) citation, which states that in such cases, rather than arrest, the priority should be return of money. “Things were perfect for the DSK Group till 2008. However, the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, international financial crisis, his accident, RERA and recession in real estate are a few reasons of financial crises with the DSK group. My client has a good track record and has no intention to cheat the investors, a majority of them being the poor, senior citizens and those belonging to the middle class. We have also handed over our passport to the investigating authority,” Shivade said.
APP Sunil Hande added, “We did not receive enough time to study the argument of the defense. We will submit our side on Tuesday and oppose the bail.”
