InfraLive September-15, 2025

Court finds evidence of siphoning www.infralive.com 46 InfraLIVE September 15, 2025 Allegations of siphoning off substantial part of Rs 1,243Cr purchases CC No. 27 SW 2025 Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Trust Vs Chetan and ors. (CNR-MHMM18-001974-2024) th Relevant extracts of Court Order dated 28.02.2025 by Komalsing Rajput, JMFC, 12 Court, Bandra, Mumbai 1. By way of this lengthy application running in several pages, pleading minute details of financial transactions done by respondents, the applicant, Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, hereinafter referred as trust, approached this court through, Prashant Mehta, its authorized representative, under Section 175(3) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for short BNSS, seeking direction to register the offence against respondents i.e. proposed accused persons alleging that they had committed certain cognizable offences, as narrated in this application. 3. The summary of the allegations is that there was fierce legal battle between the present office bearers of trust and Respondent Nos. 1 to 7, i.e. erstwhile office bearers of the trust, about the control over it. The trust mainly runs Lilavati Hospital, at BandraWest, Mumbai. The present office bearers after a long legal fight for about twenty years gained control of the trust by the order of Supreme Court, dated 18.09.2023. After assuming office, the present trustees found several illegalities in the conduct of the business of the trust, mainly hospital run by it. 4. After assuming office, the present office bearers carried out forensic audit of the accounts and transactions to ascertain their genuineness through a reputed forensic audit firm Chetan Dalal Investigation and Management Services Pvt Ltd. After examination of data in two computers operated by previous Finance Direc- tors of the hospital, they found several irregularities and illegal acts committed by respondents in Purchase and Procurement Department of the hospital. It prepared detailed report and found that while making purchases and procuring medicine and several other articles of value of Rs 1243,09,92,597/- the respondents committed several illegal acts and siphoned off crores of rupees. For doing so the Respondent Nos.1 to 7, the previous office bearers took the help of Respondent Nos. 9 to 13, 15 and 17, who are running respondent companies, i.e. Respondent Nos. 8, 14 and 16, by ignoring the standard operating procedure of purchases adopted by the trust. The summary of these alleged illegal acts, is as – i. The trust is having a robust, self-sufficient procurement and purchase department, despite that respondents engaged new entity i.e. Respondent No.8, Akna Medical Pvt Ltd, for supplies with intention to remit the bills for goods which are not actually supplied andmisappropriated the huge amount. ii. The respondents created alternate domain name and created alternate email ID of the hospital for transact- ing interse, to suppress conceal their acts and activities from the trust. iii. In order to justify deceitful transactions, theAkna Medical Pvt Ltd, in connivance with Respondent Nos. 14 and 16, used this alternate domain name and created bogus agreement named as Letter of Intent (LoI) and taken away huge funds of the trust for the goods which are not actually supplied. iv. About purchases made also the goods were supplied showing inflated rates, with a view to grab trust funds. v. Ignoring the procedure to appoint suppliers, without conducting any inquiry and observing due diligence of Respondent No.8, company, the services were employed for longer duration. While doing so the antecedents of the company, risk analysis, etc. factors were not considered. vi. The approval of Board of Directors, also not obtained for this appointment. The confidential business information was revealed to third parties and deliberately several acts done to cause loss to the trust for wrongful gain to the respondents. vii. The procedure to maintain and disburse the stock not followed and no documentary record of transactions maintained. viii. The other relevant record also not maintained properly and protocol not followed. Rather while leaving