The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday reserved its order on the bail application of a former bishop of the Church of North India's (CNI) Jabalpur diocese in a cheating case.
The court reserved its order on the bail plea of former Bishop P C Singh arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police's economic offences wing in a cheating case last month, senior advocate Anil Khare and Anshuman Singh said.
A single bench of Justice Nandita Dubey heard the bail application and reserved the order.
The EOW claimed to have recovered around Rs 1.60 crore in Indian and foreign currencies from Singh's residence in Jabalpur during searches. The case was registered in August after a complaint alleged financial misconduct by Singh as the chairman of an educational society.
Singh's counsels Khare and Anshuman contended that the applicant was an authorised person of the education society and the land purchased is in the name of the society as mentioned in the sale deed and other documents. Hence, he is not the owner of the land purchased for the society.
The name of the education society was changed in 2002-03 before Singh took charge as bishop, they told the court.
Singh moved the high court after the lower court rejected his bail application, the counsel said.
The former bishop had not transferred any funds of the society and has not indulged in any wrong doing.
Before Singh’s arrest on September 12, the EOW claimed to have recovered around Rs 1.60 crore in Indian and foreign currencies from Singh's residence in Jabalpur during searches following the registration of the cheating case against Singh, who was at that time in Germany.
The EOW took the help of various agencies, including the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), to monitor Singh’s movements upon his return from abroad.
A preliminary investigation had revealed that Rs 2.70 crore collected as students' fees by the society's various institutions between 2004-05 and 2011-12 was allegedly transferred to religious institutions, misused and spent by Singh for personal needs, an EOW official had earlier said.
Singh and former assistant registrar of Firms and Societies, B S Solanki, were booked under the Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using a forged document or electronic record) and 120 B (punishment for criminal conspiracy).
-With PTI Input
