Shivani Gadhavi
Published On: December 22, 2021 at 13:58 IST
Orissa High Court called Pravat Tripathy, a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Orissa and leader of the Biju Janata Dal, who is supposedly Accused of patronizing the Artha Tatwa Group, one of the prime Accused firms in the multi-crore chit Fund Scam.
The Orissa High Court urged on the need for the Trial against Tripathy, while denying to get involved in the proceedings of the case; the proceedings which are going on before the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The Single-Judge Bench of Justice S K Panigrahi stated, “the entirety of circumstances showcase that the petitioner was prima facie aware of the nature of the business of the principle accused and knowing the background fully well he consciously chose to bless the principle accused (Pradeep Sethy) with his patronage in exchange for monetary benefits.”
The former Chief of the Biju Janata Dal argued that he is falsely Accused of receiving INR 42 Lakhs from the principle Accused Pradeep Sethy, the chief of the firm, in order to aid him the illegal business operations that the firm was involved with.
The Order stated, “Petitioner’s patronization was sought by the principle accused in order to further the unscrupulous business by striking a sense of confidence in the hearts of the investors. Consequently, it becomes imperative that the matter be subjected to the rigor of thorough trial in respect of the alleged offences to meet the ends of justice. Without a trial, it is not possible to fathom whether or not the allegations against the petitioner are made out or not.”
