Investment Fraud Case: Erode-based Green Life Farms & Poultry Partners Get 10 Years’ RI, ₹24.53-Crore Fine

Coimbatore:

Two partners of an Erode-based poultry firm have been sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI) by the Special Court under the TNPID Act in Coimbatore for cheating 1,062 depositors of ₹24.34 crore through an investment scheme involving the rearing of country chicks. The court also imposed a fine of ₹24.53 crore in the case.

Special Judge M.N. Senthil Kumar awarded the punishment to P. Viswanathan (40) of Poovampalayam near Perundurai and S. Gowrishankar (40) of Pichandanpalayam near Perundurai, who were partners of Green Life Farms & Poultry, a financial establishment based at Chithode in Erode district.

According to the judgment, the firm was registered with the Registrar of Firms, Erode, in 2012, with Viswanathan and Gowrishankar as its partners. V. Banu alias Banumathi and G. Nirmala were the managers of the establishment and were also arrayed as accused in the case.

N. Karthikeyani, Special Public Prosecutor (Criminal) for the complainant. argued that the accused operated a poultry investment scheme between January 24 and September 3, 2012, canvassing deposits from the public by promising attractive returns. Under the scheme, investors were required to deposit ₹1.20 lakh for one unit and were promised 400 country chicks, besides sheds, feed, medical check-ups, free insurance and medicines.

Investors were allegedly assured a monthly return of ₹9,000, an annual bonus of ₹12,000, and repayment of the principal amount after a maturity period of three years.

The prosecution contended that the scheme offered highly unrealistic returns and that the accused ultimately failed to repay the deposits.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Erode, registered the case in 2012 after receiving a complaint over the alleged default. The prosecution alleged that the accused had collected ₹24,34,15,100 from 1,062 depositors and failed to return the promised amounts.

The accused were booked under different provisions based on their alleged roles. Accused No. 1 was charged under Section 420 of the IPC and Section 5 of the TNPID Act, 1997, while Accused Nos. 2 to 5 faced charges under Sections 120-B and 420 of the IPC and Section 5 of the TNPID Act.

During the trial, the prosecution examined 781 witnesses and marked more than 2,000 documents as exhibits. The prosecution argued that the evidence and agreements produced before the court established that the accused had acted in concert to attract deposits by making false promises and subsequently defaulted on repayment.

The defence, however, disputed the prosecution’s allegations and contended that the firm had been functioning as a genuine poultry business, with the deposited amounts being used for chicks, feed, medicines and construction of sheds. The defence also argued that the partners had made payments to some depositors and denied any criminal intention to cheat.

After considering the evidence and arguments, the court held that the prosecution had proved the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

Justice M.N. Senthil Kumar then sentenced the two accused to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹24.53 crore in the case.