Hiranandani bros out on bail in PF scam case

Niranjan and Surendra Hiranandani, directors of a Mumbai-based realty firm who have been accused of a provident fund scam, were on Thursday granted anticipatory bail by a special court in the city. The scam is said to be worth over Rs9 crore.

The duo had approached the court seeking anticipatory bail after the Central Bureau of Investigation issued lookout notices against them to all airports on 4 August.

The brothers have been named as accused in a first information report (FIR) lodged by CBI on 29 March 2008 for an alleged fraud involving provident fund deposits.

Special CBI judge S P Hayatnagarkar, while granting the duo bail on a surety of just Rs1 lakh each, observed that their custodial interrogation was not required.

Niranjan's lawyer Harshad Ponda had argued that both Niranjan and Surendra have been in constant touch with CBI in connection with the case and have also attended the investigating agency's office several times for questioning.

CBI counsel Bharat Badami had opposed the duo's bail pleas stating that they have not been cooperating with the investigation and that their custody was required to gather more information regarding the scam.

"The court has held that the provident fund liability was on the contractor and not the Hiranandani Group. We will continue cooperating with CBI for investigations," Niranjan said.

The special CBI court has however directed the brothers not to leave the city without the CBI's permission till the investigation is over. They are accused of cheating the Employees Provident Fund Department of crores of rupees by not paying provident fund dues to their workers.

The CBI had raided the offices of Hiranandani Group in March 2008 and demanded their custody. In their defence, the Hiranandanis say the employees whose provident fund was not deposited were hired by a contractor and hence they are not responsible.