The duo had posed as CBI officers and offered to settle a civil matter. (File)
The Bombay High Court on Monday issued notice to two alleged conmen who had posed as CBI officers and duped Bollywood filmmaker Rakesh Roshan on his petition seeking the return of Rs 20 lakh of the total Rs 50 lakh he had paid the duo.
The duo- Ashwini Kumar Sharma and Rajesh Ranjan - were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2011 for allegedly cheating more than 200 people, including film personalities and businessmen. They had allegedly been cheating people since 2006 by posing as CBI officers.
The duo approached Rakesh Roshan claiming they are CBI officers and offered to settle a civil matter he was allegedly embroiled in for money. Mr Roshan allegedly paid them Rs 50 lakh. As per his petition, he approached the anti-corruption wing of CBI when his matter was not resolved.
The two were later released on bail.
As per a 2012 order passed by the sessions court, Mr Roshan had received Rs 30 lakh (out of the total Rs 50 lakh) but he is yet to receive the rest of the money, his petition stated. The trial court had permitted Mr Roshan to withdraw Rs 30 lakh pending the trial against the two accused.
With the trial in the case yet to be complete, Mr Roshan, in August 2020, submitted an application before the sessions court for the remaining Rs 20 lakh.
The court rejected Mr Roshan's application in December 2021 noting he was essentially seeking a review of the 2012 order which allowed the return of part of the amount (Rs 30 lakh).
The sessions court had said Roshan's application was not maintainable as the filmmaker had not challenged the 2012 order.
Mr Roshan then moved the high court seeking quashing of the orders passed by the sessions court in 2012 and 2021.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)