Pala MLA Mani C Kappan is set to face criminal proceedings in a Rs 2 crore fraud case after the Kerala High Court dismissed his revision petition, claiming the matter was a civil case.
Kappan is accused of not repaying Rs 2 crores he took from Mumbai native Dinesh Menon. The MLA argued that the trial court's decision to charge him did not consider relevant facts.
The complainant, Menon, claimed that Kappan has only returned Rs 25 lakhs. The case was initially heard by the First Class Magistrate Court in Ernakulam and later transferred to the special court, which handles disputes against people's representatives.
According to the complaint, in 2013, Kappan agreed to return Rs 3.25 crores, including interest. He reportedly offered 98 cents in Aymanam, Kottayam, as collateral. However, the land had already been mortgaged to the Kottayam Agricultural Cooperative Bank. Besides, the cheques Kappan provided bounced, Menon said in his complaint.
The court remarked that while non-repayment of the loan alone does not constitute fraud under the Indian Penal Code, the subsequent circumstances suggest a criminal breach of trust. The court noted that Kappan engaged in an agreement with Menon to avoid legal actions, but the property he offered was already under bank proceedings. The trial court had found the fraud charges applicable under the above circumstances. Now, the High Court has said there are sufficient grounds to proceed with the charges.