Delhi Court Clears Ratul Puri in Rs.354 Crore Bank Fraud Case, Says Matter is Civil, Not Criminal

A Delhi court has cleared industrialist Ratul Puri, the nephew of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath, in a ₹354-crore bank fraud case. The court ruled that the case was more of a civil dispute rather than a criminal one, and therefore not suitable for criminal prosecution.

What Was the Case About?

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had accused Ratul Puri, his wife Nita Puri, and their company Moser Baer India Limited of taking loans from multiple banks and not repaying them, causing huge financial losses. The CBI claimed that the loan money was misused and siphoned off, and that some bank officials may have helped in the fraud by failing to monitor the loans properly.

What Did the Court Say?

Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal, who delivered the verdict in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court, explained in his order that the entire issue appears to be more commercial or civil in nature—similar to a business dispute, rather than a criminal conspiracy. The court observed that just because a loan wasn’t repaid doesn’t mean a crime like cheating or fraud was committed.

The judge said,

“There is enough material to suggest that this is a civil matter, not a criminal offence. The civil issue is being wrongly painted as a criminal one.”

Why Was the Case Dismissed?

One of the major reasons the case was dismissed is because the banks involved refused to give the CBI permission to investigate their own officers—40 of them in total. According to Indian law, especially under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the CBI needs official permission to begin an investigation against public servants or bank officers.

The court said that since the banks themselves didn’t think any crime was committed, it shows that this was not a case of cheating or fraud. The judge added that senior bankers and government officials are well aware of how loan transactions work. If they felt it was a criminal case, they would have allowed the investigation. But they didn’t, which shows they also believed it was a civil matter.

The court also mentioned that there was no solid proof that the loan money was misused or illegally transferred. In fact, it was shown that the loans were used for the purposes they were meant for, and were in line with RBI guidelines and banking norms.

Final Verdict

With all this considered, the court concluded that:

• The case lacked evidence of criminal intent like cheating, fraud, or deception.
• The matter could be handled through civil legal remedies, like loan recovery, instead of criminal charges.
• Therefore, Ratul Puri and others were discharged from the case.

This judgment is being seen as a major relief for Ratul Puri and his family, and a setback for the CBI, which had been investigating the case for years.