Mumbai: Another Denron lawyer under EOW scanner

Ashesh and his wife Shivangi Mehta who ran Bliss Consultants

In a significant development in the Denron Rea IT and Bliss Consultants Rs 200 crore arbitration saga, another lawyer, Dharmendra Vasantlal Patel, who previously represented Denron and its sister company, has come under the scanner of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). The lawyer approached the Additional Sessions Court, Mumbai, and was granted interim relief on the condition that he appear before the EOW daily for the duration of the investigation and cooperate with the agency. Earlier, the EOW arrested another lawyer for allegedly submitting fake affidavits on behalf of Goregaon-based couple Ashesh and Shivangi Mehta, already in jail for allegedly duping many of their investors.

The court has directed Dharmendra Vasantlal Patel to appear before the investigating officer until September 10, and in the meantime, the officer is restrained from taking any coercive action against him. The court also instructed the EOW to file a reply, for which the agency has requested a week.

According to the EOW, they had previously arrested Amit Chaurasia, who is reportedly a junior of Patel. The investigation pertains to a Rs 200 crore fake arbitration case at Pune's Khed court involving fraudulent documents and affidavits submitted by the Mehta couple. Patel had also appeared for this arbitration, along with his junior. Despite two summons issued to Patel by the EOW, he failed to appear, citing personal reasons.

In his anticipatory bail application, Patel expressed concerns about his potential arrest, suggesting that the EOW might be trying to pressure him into implicating Denron Rea IT Trade Pvt Ltd, the decree-holder company. He further stated that he has "no role whatsoever in the allegations against his junior of filing false vakalatnama, NOC, affidavit etc, on behalf of Bliss Consultants [the company owned by Mehta couple]".

According to the EOW, Chaurasia allegedly colluded with Patel. The investigation is ongoing to determine on whose behalf the fake arbitration was orchestrated, with the aim of siphoning off Rs 200 crore from the accounts of Bliss Consultants.

Officials are also investigating the role of the Darwin Group of Companies in the case and have recorded the statement of its founder and chairman, Ajay Harinath Singh, whose property was previously raided by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a similar arbitration case in Delhi.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court has granted Bliss Consultants and its legal team permission to inspect records of initial arbitration created by Delhi-based arbitrator D K Saini. Bliss Consultants' legal team had filed an application seeking to inspect the records, expressing concerns that similar manipulations may have occurred, as seen in the arbitration case in Pune's Khed court wherein Chaurasia was arrested for forging documents and affidavits purportedly signed by the Mehta couple.

Advocate Hemant Ingle, representing the Mehta couple, said, "The order allowing inspection of the records of the arbitrator is significant. The inspection may open Pandora's box."

Rs 200CR
Amount demanded through forged documents