Authority: High Court of Judicature at Madras
Order Date: 07.08.2026
Case Overview
- Petitioners: M.V. Ganesan, V. Sriram, Govindaraju Kanniyappan, Santhan Kumar Rajendran, Mohan (Rangaswamy) and others, filing Criminal Original Petitions under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to set aside the trial‑court order that split the case against the two principal accused (CEO and COO of Zylog Systems Ltd).
- Respondent: The State represented by the Inspector of Police, CBI/BS&FC/Bangalore, along with senior officials of Zylog Systems Ltd (CMD & CEO Sudharsan Venkatraman and MD & COO Ramanujam Sesharathnam).
- Background: Complaints by Union Bank of India and Syndicate Bank alleged that Zylog Systems obtained credit facilities (packing credit, term loan, corporate loan, working‑capital loan) totalling Rs 466.38 crore (Union Bank) and Rs 296.01 crore (Syndicate Bank). Investigation by CBI concluded that the loans were diverted through forged work orders, shell companies (Effica Systems, Woodbridge Technologies, Aditicon Services) and misuse of bank guarantees, causing the stated losses.
- The trial court, invoking Rule 17 of the Criminal Rules of Practice and Circular Orders, 1958, split the proceedings to try the co‑accused while the principal accused remained abroad, issuing non‑bailable warrants and initiating extradition proceedings.
- Petitioners argued that the split caused procedural prejudice, duplication of evidence and violated their right to cross‑examine core witnesses. They sought restoration of the original joint trial.
Final Outcome
- The Madras High Court dismissed all Criminal Original Petitions and the connected miscellaneous petitions, finding no infirmity in the trial‑court’s order to split the case.
- The court directed the competent authority to expedite the extradition process for Accused Nos. 1 and 2 (the CEO and COO) and, upon securing their presence, to complete the trial against them within twelve weeks of receipt of the order.
- The split‑up proceedings against the remaining accused were upheld, allowing the trial to continue without further delay.
Topics: Bank Fraud, Extradition, Criminal Procedure