Man declared proclaimed offender in 20-yr-old fraud case denied bail by Delhi court

A man declared a proclaimed offender over 18 years ago in connection with a 20-year-old fraud case has been denied bail by a Special CBI Court in Delhi, which observed that his conduct of having evaded the “due process of law for around two decades dis-entitles” him from reprieve [CBI v. Ramesh Chander Upadhyay]..Special CBI Judge Surinder S Rathi also noted the allegations of forgery and fraud against the the accused to be “more than quarter-of-a-century old”..“The conduct of the accused of evading the due process of law for around two decades, dis-entitles him from seeking bail at this juncture when the current trial against him is at a pre-charge stage. I do not find merits in the bail application filed by the applicant/accused Ramesh Chander Upadhyay. The same is accordingly dismissed,” the Court held in an order passed on September 20, 2021..The man was accused in a case in which false claims were allegedly made with insurance companies and seven cheques worth ₹9.18 lakh were issued by the accused persons. The modus operandi was stated to be of double payments on claims that were already dealt with by changing the scrutiny sheets, voucher copy and replacing them with fake documents. The cheques were deposited in fictitious accounts, it was alleged further.The present accused was stated to have been involved in one such instance, where a cheque was encashed through him and a fictitious account was created.The year in which the alleged crime took place was 1994 and the accused was stated to have “absconded and evaded” arrest in the case ever since the FIR got registered in 1999. A court declared him a proclaimed offender on February 26, 2003. Case records showed that Ramesh Chander Upadhyay had remained a proclaimed offender in the case for 18.5 years when he was arrested on July 22, 2021.It also came on record that the trial that took place without him, and culminated in conviction of five persons, including his brother..Besides stressing that he was implicated in the case, the man’s defense counsel argued that he was unaware that there was a case against him. The man was also said to have no prior history of crime.The CBI counsel highlighted that the man had deliberately absconded for around two decades and as a result declared a proclaimed offender by the court.Post arguments, the special court found “no substance” in the argument that he was unaware of the case’s pendency as his brother had faced trial.“Even though accused was living in Delhi, but was evidently hiding and apparently waited for the fate of this case. It is only 10 years after the judgment of conviction was recorded on 31.10.2011, that CBI could locate and arrest the applicant/accused,” the order added.Advocate Rajkumari represented the accused whereas Public Prosecutor Jyoti Solanki appeared for the CBI..[Read Order]