Nitin Desai suicide case: Bombay HC to hear petitions of Edelweiss Chairman Rashesh Shah, others

livemint.com:

Edelweiss Financial Services Chairman Rashesh Shah and others in the Nitin Desai suicide case. Apparently, FIRs were registered against Shah, Edelweiss ARC MD and CEO Raj Kumar Bansal and others for allegedly abetting the suicide of renowned film art director. Apart from Shah and Bansal, company official Smit Shah, another person named Keur Mehta, and Jitender Kothari, who was appointed by the NCLT as an interim resolution professional, have also moved the HC seeking for the FIR to be quashed.

All the petition will be heard today Senior counsel Amit Desai, appearing for Bansal, Shah and two other accused, mentioned the matter before a division bench headed by Justice N W Sambre and sought urgent hearing. Nitin Desai, a prominent Bollywood art director known for his work on acclaimed films like "Lagaan" and "Jodhaa Akbar," was found hanging at his studio in Karjat, Maharashtra's Raigad district on August 2. Two days later, his wife lodged an FIR with the Khalapur police station, leading to an abetment to suicide case against Shah, Bansal, and Kothari under IPC sections 306 and 34.

Desai's company, ND's Art World Pvt Ltd, had defaulted on a significant loan repayment of ₹252 crore, resulting in insolvency proceedings initiated by the National Company Law Tribunal. Despite allegations, Edelweiss ARC denied undue pressure on Desai for loan recovery. The investigation into Desai's death by Raigad police revealed 11 audio clips at his office, wherein he criticised a financial services firm his company owed money to.