Gautam Gambhir gets into trouble, Delhi court orders new investigation into fraud case

A Delhi court has reopened an investigation involving former cricketer and current head coach of the Indian cricket team, Gautam Gambhir, in a case of alleged cheating of flat buyers. Special Judge Vishal Gogne overturned an earlier lower court decision to dismiss Gambhir, describing the ruling as reflecting an “inadequate expression” of the allegations against him.

“The allegations also merit further investigation into the role of Gautam Gambhir,” Judge Gogne said in an October 29 order.

The case, initially filed against real estate companies Rudra Buildwell Realty Pvt. Ltd., HR Infracity Pvt Ltd., UM Architectures and Contractors Ltd. and Gambhir (who served as both director and brand ambassador for the companies’ joint venture), revolves around claims that investors were defrauded.

Judge Gogne noted that Gambhir was the only accused with a “direct interface with the investors” as a brand ambassador. Despite his dismissal, the lower court ruling did not address his financial involvement in the company, including a payment of Rs 6 crore to Rudra Buildwell Realty Pvt. Ltd and a receipt of Rs 4.85 crore in return.

“The charge sheet did not make it clear whether the amounts Rudra repaid to him had any connection or came from the funds he received from the investors in the project in question. Since the core of the allegations relates to the offense of cheating, it was necessary to clarify in the charge sheet and also in the impugned order whether any part of the defrauded amounts had ended up in the hands of Gambhir,” the judge said.

Moreover, the court highlighted Gambhir’s financial dealings with the company and his tenure as additional director from June 29, 2011 to October 1, 2013. “He was thus an office bearer when the project was advertised,” the court noted, emphasizing that “the biggest part of the reimbursement to him” took place after his dismissal in 2013.

“Yet, the impugned order generalized the findings against Gambhir by combining the findings against him with observations made by the trial court in relation to other accused (not named in the complaint). The impugned order reflects inadequate expression of opinion while deciding the allegations against Gambhir. also deserve further investigation into Gambhir’s role,” the order said.

It then referred the case back to the lower court, ordering it to “issue a detailed new order on the indictment, specifying the charges against each suspect” based on the evidence in the charge sheet.

The accused parties allegedly advertised a housing project in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, initially called “Serra Bella” in 2011 and renamed “Pavo Real” in 2013. According to the complainant, buyers paid amounts ranging from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 16 lakh based on these promotions, but no significant development took place on the property by the time the complaint was filed in 2016.

Complainants later discovered that the project had not been developed as per the proposed plan nor had it received the necessary approvals from the state government. The companies reportedly stopped responding to queries, and it was revealed that the property was under a 2003 stay order issued by the Allahabad High Court over ownership of the land.

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