A special court in Bengaluru on Thursday convicted former Minister S.N. Krishnaiah Setty and three others in a bank fraud case dating back to 2008. The court sentenced them to three years in prison for their involvement in the scam. However, the court granted them interim bail for one month, allowing them to appeal the decision in the High Court.
The case was heard by Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, the judge of the Special Court of Sessions, which handles criminal cases against current and former Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and Members of Parliament (MPs). The judge found sufficient evidence to prove the charges against the accused. The detailed judgment is yet to be made public.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed the case in 2008 after receiving a complaint from the Vigilance Officer of the State Bank of Mysore (SBM), which has since been merged with the State Bank of India. The CBI accused the former minister and others of colluding with the bank’s branch manager to approve housing loans using fake documents. The loans were sanctioned through Mr. Setty’s company, Sri Balaji Krupa Enterprises.
According to the chargesheet, the accused submitted fabricated salary certificates from organizations like ITI, BEML, BMTC, Bescom, and KSRTC to secure loans. The branch manager approved loans worth ₹7.17 crore based on these false documents. By the time the chargesheet was filed, the outstanding loan amount had reached ₹3.53 crore.
The case dragged on for years until the Karnataka High Court, in March 2023, directed the special court to speed up the trial. The court finally delivered its verdict on Thursday, convicting all four accused.
Under Indian law, a trial court can grant bail if the sentence is three years or less. Taking this into account, the special court released Mr. Setty and the others on interim bail for 30 days, giving them time to appeal the verdict in the High Court.
This case highlights the long legal battles often associated with financial frauds in India and the challenges in bringing those involved to justice. The final outcome will now depend on the High Court’s decision on the appeal.
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