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Mumbai: Famous television actress Karishma Tanna, her husband Varun Bangera and Bollywood actor and TV presenter Samir Kochhar filed a complaint against a couple, who own and run a real estate development firm, for allegedly swindling them of Rs 1.3 crore.
According to sources, the accused couple involved in a real estate development business, named as Pronit Prem Nath and his wife Ameesha allegedly defrauded the complainant’s family of Rs 1.3 crore on pretext of selling them a flat. The accused duped the victim on pretext selling them flat located at a construction site in Bandra. As per the sources, the matter belongs to the year 2022.
Complainant Samir Kochhar registered the case, alleging that the individuals, pretending to sell apartments, deceived him of ₹58.50 lakhs and also cheated his friend, Varun Bangera, of ₹44.66 lakhs. The case was filed under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code at Andheri police station on October 21, 2023.
As per the FIR, Samir Kochhar, a businessman putting up in JVPD, Andheri West, along with his wife Radhika Kochhar and friend Varun Bangera, were on the lookout for properties in December 2020. They learned that Pronit Nath and Amisha Nath were planning to build a four-floor building in Pali Village in Bandra West, and later sell it. The Kochar couple and Varun Bangera visited the site, which was then empty land, and met Pronit Nath. Pronit Nath told them they would build a building and sell it, showing them a building map. The Kochar couple decided to purchase a flat on the 3rd floor of 660 Sq Ft, and Bangera decided to purchase a flat on the 4th floor of 750 Sq Ft.
Subsequently, during a meet, Pronit assured them that the land was free of any loans, and the title was clear. The price for the Kochhar’s flat was finalized at ₹1.95 crore, with a token amount of ₹11 lakhs. Kochhar issued a cheque from HDFC Bank for the same amount on December 9, 2020. As for the Bangeras, they had previously provided a cheque of ₹19.85 lakhs as a token amount in August 2020.
Later, the Kochhar couple and Bangera discovered that there was a loan on the property, and Nath had mortgaged the land with a financial company. They met Nath and inquired about it. Despite their frequent inquiries about the construction progress, Nath assured them on June 3, 2022, that the building would be completed within three months. However, the situation took an unexpected turn on June 23, 2023, when Nath informed Kochhar and Bangera via WhatsApp messages that they had decided not to sell the property and intended to retain it for themselves. This came as a shock to the Kochhar couple and Bangera.
The FIR was filed in response to Nath’s communication through his lawyers in the high court, where he stated that he had already entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to sell the property to someone else. In an effort to enforce the MOU, Kochhar approached the High Court, seeking directions for Nath to proceed with the agreement. On July 26, Justice Kamal Khata issued a restraining order, preventing Nath from selling the flat to a third party.
Nath contested this decision before a division bench of the High Court. However, on October 5, the bench led by Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya declined to intervene or overturn the single judge’s order, which prohibited Nath from transferring ownership of the disputed flat.
