Pathanamthitta: Popular Finance, the NBFC accused of defrauding lakhs of depositors of Rs 2,000 crore, has filed an application in the Pathanamthitta sub-court seeking permission to withdraw the bankruptcy petition.
The finance company told the court that it was filing the application as it has prepared a plan as per the directions of the High Court to repay the investors.
However, the case was adjourned to November 9 after the public prosecutor said that the bankruptcy petition should not be allowed to be withdrawn without the company specifying what the repayment plan was.
The court has ordered that as part of the investigation, a copy of the 50,000-page document attached to the bankruptcy petition be provided to the public prosecutor.
Meanwhile, lawyers from Kochi arrived at the court arguing that the bankruptcy plea cannot be allowed to stand. The team of lawyers who appeared for the investors also demanded that the bankruptcy petition be rejected.
However, the public prosecutor opposed this, too. He said the petition should be allowed to stand and that copies of the documents should be given to all the petitioners.
The prosecutor told the court that Popular Finance had a liability of Rs 2,000 crore and that the police have so far been able to recover assets worth only Rs 120 crore. He demanded that the company should clarify how it intended to settle the liability with such limited assets.
When the case is heard in November, a notice will be sent to all the opposing parties or a notice will be published in print media. The reason behind the company filing an application to withdraw the bankruptcy petition is still not clear. Popular Finance has also not elaborated about the compromise promised in the High Court.
Meanwhile, the investigation team has decided to file a new case against the accused. It has decided to take all the five into custody after registering the case. The probe team has recorded the statements of auditors, managers and other officials connected with Popular Finance. All five will be questioned together to confirm the veracity of these statements.
