Owner of capital’s first beer-manufacturing bar held for cheating

Delhi police has arrested the owner of Delhi-NCR’s first beer-manufacturing restaurant and bar in a multi-crore cheating and forgery case.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in March 2010, had lodged a criminal case against Chandra Shekhar Aggarwal, who owned Rockman's Beer Island in Ambience Mall, Gurgaon.

A Delhi-based real estate developer has preferred winding up the petition against Rockman Breweries (TNK) Pvt. Ltd. alleging that Rockman was loaned a sum of Rs 13.5 crore, and in return Rockman had given a house in Hauz Khas Enclave as security.

The developer claims that in spite of that, Aggarwal sold the house to a third party.

Gaurav Liberhan, counsel for the realtor, said, ‘Aggarwal forged signatures to show that the loan of Rs 13.5 crore stood cancelled and he had nothing to pay back.’ In the winding up petition, filed in the High Court, justice S Muralidhar passed an order in March 2013 giving four weeks time to Rockman to pay the developer’s money.

However, Rockman unsuccessfully challenged the order before the division bench. Since no payments were made on time, the court has ordered for appointment of the provisional liquidator where the directions were given.

The official liquidator has been directed by the High Court to wind up all the assets, books of accounts and records of the respondent company and enclose therewith the balance sheets, profit and loss accounts and copies of the statements of all the bank accounts for the past three years. The developers counsel has also pointed out and referred to a huge backlog of tax payments to be made by Rockman.

Earlier the counsel for Aggarwal contested the police custody stating that it is a civil dispute, which has been given the colour of criminal offence, and there is no requirement of interrogation. The court however rubbished Aggarwal’s counsel’s plea raising contention about the legality of his arrest.