Hitesh Mehta, Managing Director and Head of Accounts at New India Cooperative Bank, after being arrested by the EOW, in Mumbai, Saturday, February 15, 2025
A court here has denied bail to Hitesh Mehta, the main accused in the New India Co-Operative Bank embezzlement case. He said the amounts involved were “huge sums” and that the allegations against him were serious.
Mehta, the bank’s former managing director and head of accounts, is the prime suspect in the alleged misappropriation of ₹122 crore from the bank’s reserves over five years.
Additional Chief Judge (Esplanade Court) Abhijit R. Solapure rejected Mehta’s bail plea on October 18.
The court noted in its detailed order that, according to the indictment, “this suspect played a significant role in accepting cash and putting it into circulation by transferring it to other suspects.”
The court also said that “the indictment clearly reflects this defendant’s role in the overall crime.”
“It cannot be said that the investigating officer rushed to file charges without proper details,” the court added.
The key allegations raised by Mehta while pushing for bail included “unexplained delay in filing the FIR”.
Mehta has argued through his lawyer that he was allegedly forced to confess on the basis of an affidavit on February 14, 2025, which was not voluntary and therefore inadmissible as evidence.
The defense claimed that Supreme Court guidelines were violated while conducting a polygraph test on Mehta, and therefore the result should be declared inadmissible.
However, the court said there was sufficient evidence to prove Mehta’s involvement in the case even though the “results of such tests” were ignored at this stage.
The court emphasized that the crime of “this magnitude” would require a thorough inspection of documents to establish the money trail.
“The crimes charged against this suspect and others are serious and involve enormous sums of money,” the report said.
The court accepted the prosecution’s “loud and clear” apprehension that if Mehta is released on bail, there is a possibility that Mehta would tamper with prosecution evidence and also create difficulties in the ongoing forensic audit.
“The possibility of the suspect abusing his liberty cannot be overlooked,” the court ruled while denying bail to Mehta.
The matter came to light after an inspection by Reserve Bank of India officials at the bank’s Prabhadevi office in February.
Initially, RBI officials discovered a cash shortfall of ₹112 crore, which later escalated to ₹122 crore missing from the bank’s custody, including discrepancies found at the Goregaon branch.
Later, Mehta was arrested following allegations that he and his associates orchestrated the embezzlement of funds from the bank.
Published on October 22, 2025
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