MUMBAI: A sessions court has issued a non-bailable warrant against Priti Mehul Choksi, wife of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, and asked the Registrar of Companies (RoC) to forward warrants against the couple to the ministry of external affairs in a prosecution against Gitanjali Jewellery Retail Ltd over alleged violations of company law.
The RoC had separately sought warrants against both Choksi and Priti through the ministry. In its October 8 order, the court noted that the warrant against Priti had not been issued due to a clerical lapse and directed that it be issued through the home department.
The prosecution dates back to 2014 when the RoC began examining Gitanjali Jewellery’s sales-promotion schemes following information shared by the Central Bureau of Investigation with the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau about schemes operated by jewellery companies. The RoC issued a notice to Gitanjali Jewellery on October 28, 2014, seeking details of money collected from customers under its ‘Swarna Mangal’ and ‘Shagun’ schemes. In October 2018, the court found prima facie material to issue process against the accused. A non-bailable warrant against Choksi had already been issued before August 12 this year, but the court ordered it to be kept in abeyance until the next hearing.
His lawyer, Advocate Rahul Agarwal, subsequently sought warrants against Choksi and his wife through the ministry of external affairs.
