Telangana High Court imposes ₹5 crore fine on Heera Group MD
HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Thursday imposed a ₹5 crore penalty on Heera Group managing director Nowhera Shaik for filing a fresh petition despite the Supreme Court having already settled the issue related to the auction of properties attached by the Enforcement Directorate.
The court directed that the penalty amount be deposited with the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund within eight weeks and dismissed the petition.
Court slams repeat litigation despite Supreme Court ruling
The case relates to properties attached by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with multiple criminal cases against Nowhera Shaik, who is accused of collecting thousands of crores from investors across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other states by promising high returns.
Based on these cases, the Enforcement Directorate attached several properties belonging to the Heera Group. Of these, 50 properties are currently being auctioned by the agency this month.
Auction challenge dismissed with heavy costs
Challenging the auction, Nowhera Shaik filed a lunch motion petition in the High Court on Thursday. Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka heard arguments from both sides and observed that repeated petitions were being filed on an issue already decided by the Supreme Court, wasting judicial time.
The judge questioned the maintainability of the petition in the absence of any violation of rules. As the petitioner failed to provide a satisfactory explanation, the court dismissed the plea and imposed a ₹5 crore penalty.
This is said to be the highest penalty imposed by a High Court in the Telugu states so far. Earlier, the same court had imposed a ₹1 crore fine in another case for suppressing facts while filing a petition.
