A Mumbai court has denied bail to Hitesh Mehta, the primary accused in the Rs 122 crore embezzlement case involving New India Co-Operative Bank, citing the serious nature of the offence and the substantial sums involved, reported the PTI.
Mehta, who previously served as the bank’s General Manager and Head of Accounts, is accused of misappropriating Rs 122 crore from the bank’s reserves over a five-year period.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Abhijit R. Solapure (Mumbai`s Esplanade Court) rejected Mehta’s bail application on October 18, stating in the order that “the offences alleged against this accused along with others are serious and involve huge amounts,” according to the PTI.
The court observed that the chargesheet specifically detailed Mehta’s central role in the alleged financial crime, including his involvement in physically handling cash and facilitating its circulation via transfers to other accused individuals.
“It cannot be stated that the investigating officer rushed to file a chargesheet without proper details,” the court remarked, reinforcing the thoroughness of the investigation.
In his defence, Mehta argued there was an unexplained delay in the filing of the FIR and claimed his alleged confession — submitted via affidavit on February 14, 2025 — was not voluntary, making it inadmissible as evidence. His counsel also raised objections over the administration of a lie-detector test, alleging violations of Supreme Court guidelines and asserting that its findings should be disregarded, as per the PTI.
However, the court maintained that sufficient evidence existed to link Mehta to the crime, irrespective of the polygraph test’s validity. It also stated that offences of such magnitude warranted an exhaustive examination of financial records to trace the flow of funds.
Accepting the prosecution’s “loud and clear” concerns, the magistrate noted that granting bail could lead to tampering with evidence or disruption of the ongoing forensic audit.
“The possibility of the accused misusing the liberty cannot be overlooked,” the court held, the news agency reported.
The case first surfaced after the Reserve Bank of India conducted an inspection at the bank’s Prabhadevi office in February. What began as a Rs 112 crore discrepancy later escalated to Rs 122 crore, with further irregularities discovered at the bank’s Goregaon branch.
Mehta was arrested following allegations that he, along with accomplices, systematically siphoned off funds from the bank’s reserves.
(with PTI inputs)
