SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh denied anticipatory bail in fraud case

The court cited the gravity of the offence alleged against Singh in the case for denying anticipatory bail to Singh, reported MoneyControl.

A spokesperson of Spicejet said, "Mr. Ajay Singh, as per the Hon’ble Court’s directive, has already joined the investigation and appeared before the authorities. Therefore, no warrant or bail is relevant since these were to ensure his attendance."

"Mr. Singh will continue to extend full cooperation in the matter to bring this frivolous and mischievous complaint to a close," the statement issued by SpiceJet further adds.

However, non-bailable warrants against Singh were issued as he failed to appear before the investigating agency probing the case.

The court took into consideration the observations by Supreme Court which stated that "granting anticipatory bail at the stage of investigation may frustrate the investigating agency in interrogating the accused and collecting useful information and also material which might have been concealed."

The FIR against Singh has been transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police which will now investigate the case.

The case involves two share-purchase agreements entered into between Singh and the family members of the complainant for the transfer of a total of 25 lakh fully paid-up shares of SpiceJet.

This transfer was not executed on account of expired Delivery Instructions Slips (DIS).

While it is Singh's case that the DIS was handed over to the complainant as security under bona fide understanding that the same will not be presented, the complainant alleged that Singh gave outdated and invalid DIS dishonestly, the MoneyControl report stated.

The court terms the issue of giving invalid DIS as a "serious and grave offence" and basis the gravity of this offence, and proceeded to reject Singh's anticipatory bail, the report said.