Mumbai Court Issues Notices to IPS Officer Sunil Ramanand and Retired Cop Sanjay Joshi
The Mumbai sessions court has issued notices to IPS officer Sunil Ramanand and retired police officer Sanjay Joshi following a petition by Joint Commissioner of Customs Priyesh Bheda. Bheda is seeking the criminal prosecution of the officers for allegedly filing a false chargesheet against him in 2008, a legal battle that previously saw proceedings in the metropolitan magistrate court in Kurla.
Bheda, an IRS officer, filed the petition in the sessions court to challenge an earlier order by the Kurla magistrate court. The lower court had rejected his plea to initiate criminal proceedings against Joshi and Ramanand under sections 167 (framing incorrect document), 218 (framing incorrect record to save someone), and 220 (illegal confinement or commitment for trial).
The case began in 2008 when Bheda was booked and arrested in a cheating case lodged by his childhood friend, Vijayalakshmi Thinakar Nadar, who currently resides in the United States. Nadar had claimed that Bheda forged her signature to modify her demat account, link it to his joint account, and conduct unauthorized share transactions. Bheda was arrested and subsequently released on bail on February 22, 2008.
According to Bheda, the cheating case filed by Nadar was a counter-blast to a cheating and assault case he had previously filed against her and her brother. Bheda alleged that Joshi, acting under Ramanand's instructions, filed the chargesheet against him without obtaining a handwriting expert's report, even though the police had taken his specimen signatures and handwriting thrice.
On July 22, 2019, the Kurla magistrate court discharged Bheda from the cheating case. The court observed that in the absence of a handwriting expert's report, it could not be concluded that the documents were forged. The court also noted that bank officers testified they had verified the signatures against bank records at the time and found no irregularities.
Following his discharge, Bheda approached the police to take action against the officers. When no action was taken, he filed a plea in the Kurla magistrate court, alleging that Joshi conducted a faulty investigation and falsely implicated him. After the magistrate court rejected his plea, Bheda filed the current petition in the sessions court against Joshi, Ramanand, and Nadar.
