Supreme Court Suspends Sentence Of Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim In ORHDC Loan Fraud Case
The Supreme Court (on April 23) suspended the sentence of Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim in the Orissa Rural Housing Development Corporation (ORHDC) loan fraud matter. The senior Congress leader had approached the Apex Court against the Orissa High Court's order affirming his three-year sentence by the Special Judge (Vigilance), Bhubaneswar, in 2022. Previously (on April 16), the Apex Court...
The Supreme Court (on April 23) suspended the sentence of Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim in the Orissa Rural Housing Development Corporation (ORHDC) loan fraud matter. The senior Congress leader had approached the Apex Court against the Orissa High Court's order affirming his three-year sentence by the Special Judge (Vigilance), Bhubaneswar, in 2022.
Previously (on April 16), the Apex Court had exempted the senior congress leader from surrendering until the next date of hearing.
In today's order, the Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta suspended Moquim's sentence. The order, as pronounced orally by the Division bench, reads as:
“Issue notice. Standing counsel accepts notice on behalf of the State….Post the matter for hearing…Having heard the senior counsel for the parties and taking into consideration all the attending circumstances, the sentence of the petitioner is ordered to be suspended subject to...his bail bonds."
To briefly state, the ORHDC was established as a government-owned corporation with an objective of financing, promoting and developing rural housing, Moquim being the Managing Director of M/s. Metro Builders Pvt. Ltd. had applied for a loan to the tune of Rs. 1.5 crores to the ORHDC for its project Metro City II.
It was alleged that while applying for the said loan, the appellant had forged several documents, an estimate and plan approved by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), and a fire prevention certificate. It was also alleged that though the MD of ORHDC had no authority to grant the loan amount, he granted and disbursed the same without even consulting the financial advisor and legal consultant of the ORHDC.
Subsequently, the Trial Court found him guilty of several offences under IPC, 1860, including forgery and criminal conspiracy, and awarded the aforementioned sentence to him. The same was upheld by the High Court. In the impugned order, Bench of Justice Bibhu Prasad Routray opined that the appellant's position as the Managing Director of M/s. Metro Builders Pvt. Ltd. is undisputed, as is the fact that the said company obtained a loan of Rs. 1.5 crores from ORHDC. Further, the sanctioning of the loan was “coupled with the irregularities”
“When the Appellant is the undisputed Managing Director of M/s. Metro Builders Pvt. Ltd. and he has played his active role for getting the building plan approved and the loan amount was sanctioned in favour of the company on his application, the same coupled with the irregularities committed while sanctioning the loan, the criminal intent of the appellant is established having direct nexus with the offences committed.”
Citing all the irregularities, the Court was of the considered opinion that the appellant knowingly used forged documents to obtain a loan for his company. A detailed report on the impugned judgment can be read here.
Notably, last month, the High Court declared the 2019 election of Moquim from Cuttack-Barabati as void as he suppressed some criminal antecedents in the affidavit, which was submitted along with his nomination form. However, the order of the High Court was later stayed by the Supreme Court, granting him relief for the time being.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, S Muralidhar and advocates Mithu Jain and Sanchit Garga appeared for the petitioner.
Case Title: MOHAMMED MOQUIM vs. STATE OF ODISHA., Diary No.- 16787 - 2024