A Delhi court has called for a new investigation into former cricketer and current Indian cricket team coach Gautam Gambhir and others. They are accused of cheating people who bought flats. Special Judge Vishal Gogne cancelled an earlier decision by a lower court, which had dismissed the charges against Gambhir. The judge felt the lower court had not properly considered the allegations against him.
Gautam Gambhir’s case to be reinvestigated
Judge Gogne’s October 29 order pointed out that the allegations against Gambhir needed further examination. Gambhir is accused in the case due to his association with Rudra Buildwell Realty Pvt. Ltd., H R Infracity Pvt. Ltd., and U M Architectures and Contractors Ltd., where he served as brand ambassador and director for a joint venture. The court noted that Gambhir, unlike the other accused, had a “direct interface with the investors.”
In his role as brand ambassador, Gambhir was reported to have been financially involved with the company, making payments to and receiving funds from Rudra Buildwell Realty Pvt. Ltd. According to the court, the previous ruling did not clarify if the money Gambhir received from the company was linked to funds from the investors in the project. The chargesheet should have addressed this detail, particularly since the core of the allegations involves cheating.
“The chargesheet did not clarify whether the amounts paid back to him by Rudra had any nexus or were sourced from the funds received from the investors in the project in question. Since the core of the allegations pertains to the offence of cheating, it was required to be clarified by the chargesheet and also by the impugned order whether any component of the cheated amount(s) came to the hand of Gambhir,” Judge Gogne wrote.
Financial transactions questioned; case sent back for detailed review
The court observed that Gambhir held financial transactions with the company beyond his brand ambassador role and served as an additional director from June 29, 2011, to October 1, 2013. This role put him in a position of responsibility when the project, initially named “Serra Bella” and later renamed “Pavo Real” in 2013, was promoted to buyers.
The court noted that a "bulk of the repayment" to Gambhir occurred after he resigned as additional director on October 1, 2013. The lower court’s order, however, combined findings related to Gambhir with those regarding other accused parties, which Judge Gogne said reflected a "generalised" approach and “inadequate expression of mind” in handling the allegations against Gambhir.
Therefore, the special judge remanded the case back to the magisterial court, instructing it to “pass a detailed fresh order on the charge specifying the allegations against each accused” based on the available evidence.
The prosecution alleged that the accused had jointly promoted a housing project located in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, and advertised it to potential buyers in 2011. The brochures and advertisements that presented the apartments as engaging and appealing drew in the public. Because of this, they decided to book flats and paid amounts ranging from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 16 lakh.
Even with the payments, no major infrastructure work had been done on the project site by 2016, when the complaint was filed. The buyers learned that the project was neither developed according to the original site plan nor approved by the appropriate government authorities.
The site was reportedly facing legal problems, including a stay order from the Allahabad High Court in 2003, which prevented anyone from taking possession of the land. The prosecution claimed that after buyers raised complaints, the companies stopped answering their phone calls and questions. The court's recent order points to the importance of understanding Gambhir's role in the case and calls for a closer look at what each accused person did in the alleged cheating case.