VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has struck down the notices served by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) on the people, who purchased flats from scam-hit AgriGold company.
The court said that the CID cannot serve notices demanding depositing of rent when the properties are not under the attachment of the investigation agency.
The court said serving the notices violated the Depositors Protection Act. High Court Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy, who heard the petitions filed by owners of Fortune Helapuri Apartments in Eluru of East Godavari, issued the orders.
The owners of the flats approached the court stating that though they had purchased the flats from AgriGold management before the scam surfaced, they were asked by the CID to deposit monthly rent.
Arguing on behalf of the petitioners, advocate Pujari Narahari Babu said that the flats at Fortune Helapuri were purchased by individuals before 2015.
The petitioners were in possession of the flats since then and they were regularly paying power and other bills. The CID served notices on the petitioners seeking to pay a monthly rent of `10,000 even as the flats are not attached by the investigating agency.
Justice Satyanarayana Murthy, in his verdict, said the CID cannot serve notices when the property was not attached by it and that there are no litigations pending over the said flats.