New Delhi, February 21 A Delhi court on Saturday dismissed the bail plea of businessman Satya Prakash Bagla in a case related to the alleged cheating of investors based in Kolkata.
Additional Sessions Judge Shunali Gupta rejected the bail application, stating that the allegations against Bagla were "serious and grave in nature" and constituted a prima facie offense under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code (316 BNS; criminal breach of trust by an agent) committed in a "calculated manner".
"Therefore, the allegations are serious, involving a large sum of money siphoned out of ECL (Exclusive Capital Limited) without proper authorization and without any documentation for his own personal benefit. He was thus the beneficiary of these sums siphoned off from the company.
"It is important to note that this process constitutes a systematic fraud, as the funds were siphoned out of the company through complex/layered transactions, and prima facie attracts the applicability of Section 409 of the IPC," the judge said in the order.
Bagla, owner of non-banking financial company ECL, was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police on January 9 for alleged diversion and siphoning of investor funds from ECL amounting to nearly Rs 315 crore.
The court also noted that the investigation was still in a crucial initial stage, as the money trail was still being verified, and one co-accused had recently been arrested, while another was still at large.
The judge further noted the complainant's arguments that certain digital devices allegedly used by Bagla had not been recovered, and the mobile phone produced before the investigating officer (IO) did not contain data as it had been recently wiped out.
"In such circumstances, when the investigation is at a crucial/initial stage, as the entire offense requires to be decoded and thoroughly investigated, which may even require forensic analysis, I believe that the applicant's attempt to thwart the investigation, tamper with, or destroy evidence cannot be ruled out," the judge said.
The court also took note of Bagla's criminal antecedents and that he failed to disclose them in the present bail application.
The court noted that while the investigating agency did disclose these facts, Supreme Court precedents require "such positive disclosure on the part of the applicant, which is conspicuously missing in the present bail application".
The court also clarified that the matters pending before the National Company Law Tribunal are not relevant to this case, as the scope of proceedings are different. The present bail application deals with offenses that are criminal in nature and punishable under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
"There is no bar/prohibition to conduct an investigation, even if the matter is pending before the NCLT. The law is clear on this aspect that both proceedings can be continued simultaneously," the court clarified.
The counsel for the accused had earlier argued that Bagla's health was deteriorating in jail, as he had only one functioning kidney and high blood pressure.
However, the court rejected these grounds, stating, "the medical documents attached with the bail application do not reflect any medical condition which warrants urgency or cannot be addressed/treated in the jail hospitals."
"I am firmly of the opinion that, considering the serious nature of the offense, the investigation being at a nascent stage, the applicant's concealment of past criminal antecedents, and the likelihood of the applicant thwarting the investigation, I am compelled to dismiss the bail application at this stage," the judge held.
The case was based on a complaint filed by a Kolkata-based senior citizen couple, Suresh Kumar Agarwala and Kanta Agarwala, in October 2025, against the directors of ECL, including Bagla, Achal Kumar Jindal, and Johnson Kallarachal Abraham.
An FIR was filed against them under Sections 318 (cheating), 316 (criminal breach of trust) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The couple had accused Bagla of misleading them into investing in Exclusive Capital. They later found themselves in the middle of a multi-crore fraud, as the three directors siphoned off the investments to purchase luxury cars, electronic goods, and provide sham loans to their connected entities.