Pleading for the DHFL Victims’ assertion of agency- marginalization due to financial abuse: A Letter to the Hon'ble CJI Chandrachud

Posted on 11/11/2022

Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud,

The Honourable Chief Justice of India

Sub: Pleading for the DHFL Victims’ assertion of agency: marginalization due to financial abuse

Dear Sir,

First of all, on the auspicious occasion of your birthday, let every moment of your life be a new birth (mahasthavira jataka).
In the midst of catastrophic anthropogenic glocal heating⤡ and a devastated financial ecosystem, we, the victims of the Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (henceforth DHFL) scam⤡, are appealing to you, a nature-lover (in terms of the weltanschauung

of eco-sexuality) and a compassionate person known for furthering the rights of the marginalized groups (the subjugated, objectified subjects of the “othering” process), for providing justice to financially abused persons.

Because of evident financial deprivation, the DHFL victims are losing their ‘personhood’, i.e., losing their status as ‘legal persons’ per se, thus curtailing Article 14 of the Constitution of India. Following the ethico-epistemologically construed meaning of a “person” (especially the accounts given by situational ethicist Joseph Fletcher and bioethicist Peter Singer), the DHFL victims are losing their characteristic ‘sense of future’; in other words, they are losing sense of “future-oriented actions” and are being hopelessly marginalized by the various organs of a dilapidated democracy⤡ ⤡ ⤡. We are reiterating this particular epistemological standpoint after listening to your ingenious lecture on the pertinent topic of Conceptualising Marginalisation: Agency, Assertion, and Personhood VIEW HERE ⤡⤡. As you stated in the course of your lecture: “…an action that affects both, externalisation and internalisation, would diminish personhood”, the simulated DHFL scam has severely damaged both the externalized and internalized aspects of right-holding legal persons, viz., the DHFL Victims.
We are grateful to you for the intellectual resilience that you have shown throughout your career. Such intellectual assertions become indispensable at a time when discursive formations are being foreclosed and intellectuals are getting endangered. This makes us recall our former CJI’s legitimate remark:

‘Sorry State of Affairs’: CJI Ramana Says Lack of Parliamentary Debates Causing Gaps in Laws VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 15th August, 2021 ©The Wire). It is empirically observed in this context that the Indian executive and legislature, as reported by different foreign and crowd funded Indian media, are controlling, appropriating, approximating and codifying the third, fourth and fifth pillars of democracy.
INDIA WOUNDED: A BIRD’S EYE VIEW VIEW HERE ⤡Keeping in mind the glorious history of your remarkable and historic judgments on:

IPC 377 regarding the LGBTQIA+ rights and carnal sex;
the Sabarimala issue; (It proves the heterogeneity of the umbrella term, “Hindu”, if we compare it with the rituals performed in the Kamakhya Temple)
Article 497;(Empowerment of woman beyond conjugal life/institutionalized monogamous heterosexual reproductive family that is considered as “normal” as part of the Procrustean Bed of the normalization process without paying any heed to other marginal types of relationship)
The Right to Privacy (before the introduction of Data Protection/Data Privacy Bill within the Orwellian State as an anatomo-bio-political tool);
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy(MTP) Act;
passionately-written dissent notes on the Aadhaar;
the controversial arrest of five activists in the Bhima Koregaon case and so on.

However, we are very much disappointed to note that we had not listened to your dissenter’s voice, as

expected by us, in the case of Babri Masjid-Ram temple verdict. We had never imagined that metaphysical matters would ever become the object of judicial discussion within a secular framework.

We are humbly appealing to your three Cs: Compassion, Courage and Conscientiousness regarding the present case of violation of business related human right.

We are kindly requesting you to resolve the problem of the manufactured DHFL scam, the biggest financial scam that India ever witnessed, by avoiding the politico-socialization process of contemporary India, burdened with crony and monopoly capitalism.
We are presenting before you the chronological order of the said scam after the 2016 Demonetization Drive (The hunches are highlighted):

DATE	DESCRIPTION
08.11.2016	Demonetization policy was announced that promised: An end to the rule of black moneyAn end of TerrorismAn end of counterfeit money
11.04.2019—19.05.2019	Indian General Elections were held. BJP won the election by getting a majority of 36% (first pass the post system).
28.01.2019	“Be prepared for one or two major shocks in the NBFC sector”: Mr. Ajay Piramal declared. HOW DID MR. AJAY PIRAMAL, AN INSIDER TRADER, PREDICT SUCH CATASTROPHIC SITUATION? IS IT ALL PREDETERMINED? WHO IS AJAY PIRAMAL? VIEW HERE ⤡
29.01.2019	Cobrapost announced its findings on the biggest financial scam: DHFL. The BJP was found to be involved in the scam. Cobrapost also pointed out “terror-funding” as part of the scam. The nexus/collusion amidst DHFL, RKW Developers (Dheeraj Realty), the BJP and the Dawood Ibrahim-Iqbal Mirchi Gang was thereby revealed. DESPITE MANY VIGILANT GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES, HOW DID COBRAPOST (a non-governmental agency) KNOW ABOUT SUCH FACTUAL MISHAPPENINGS? False allegations on the collusion among the BJP, Dawood-Mirchi and the DHFL: A Letter to the BJP President VIEW HERE ⤡AN RTI ON THE ALLEGED COLLUSION AMONG DAWOOD-MIRCHI-RKW-DHFL-BJP VIEW HERE ⤡ We are emphasizing on this terror-funding/political charity/political donation through electoral bonds and PM CARES Fund, which cannot be revealed through the RTI. This fact of transparently opaque political donations is a threat to Indian democracy.
29.01.2019—30.01.2019	DHFL rebutted all the allegations of Cobrapost. Indian Credit Rating Agencies reaffirmed their high safety rating (AAA rating) for the financial instruments issued by DHFL. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DECEPTIVE AUDITING OF THE DHFL? AN RTI TO THE CAG OF INDIA VIEW HERE ⤡
06.06.2019	DHFL defaulted on its debt repayment, resulting in a debt rating downgrade.
30.09.2019—10.10.2019	The Honourable High Court of Bombay in the case of Reliance Nippon Life Insurance v/s DHFL passed orders that restrained DHFL from making payments to any of its secured/unsecured creditors, including the payments to any fixed deposit holders. DHFL was paying its FD and NCD holders till that time.
20.11.2019	Under Section 45-IE (I) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Indian central bank removed the board of directors of the DHFL. The reasons cited by the banking regulator for the dismissal of the DHFL board of directors were: inadequate governance and the various defaults on its payment obligations. The Reserve Bank of India vide its Order No. DOR NBFC(PD) 986/03.10.136/2019-20 dated 20th November, 2019, superseded the Board of Directors of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd. under Section 45 IE of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934; and has appointed Shri R. Subramaniakumar as its Administrator with effect from 20th November 2019. The RBI has also, by its press release dated 22 November 2019, constituted a 3-member committee under Section 45 IE of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, to act as advisors to the Administrator, who is also the resolution professional under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC 2016). This is the first time that a shadow bank came under the IBC Act, which has been amended 34 times!
03.12.2019	CIRP initiated by an order of the NCLT (C.P. (IB)-4258/MB/2019)
28.04.2020	Banks wrote off 68k crore loans of the superrich wilful defaulters.
14.12.2020	DHFL’s erstwhile promoter Kapil Wadhawan offered to repay DHFL’s creditors in full. CoC rejects it almost immediately. (cf. “Bankruptcy will not void personal guarantees”: Supreme Court. 21/05/2021)
03.12.2019 — 17.01.2021	19 meetings were conducted by the CoC within the pandemic period. Competing bidders included Adani Group, Oaktree Capitals, Piramal Group etc. The Resolution Plan submitted by Piramal Group was finally approved by the CoC, avoiding highest bidder Oaktree. On 03/12/2021, Oaktree Capitals alleged bias/partiality of the CoC in favour of the Piramal Group. Wadhawan reiterated his offer for 100% repayment, but it again fell on deaf ears.
18.02.2021	RBI blindly approved the Resolution Plan of Piramal. Demanding Expulsion of Mr. Shaktikanta Das, Governor, The Reserve Bank of India: A letter to the President of India VIEW HERE ⤡
22.02.2021	DHFL case: Auditor Grant Thornton unearthed another fraudulent transaction by the DHFL through Forensic Auditing.
24.03.2021	CBI filed a new suit against DHFL and its promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, wherein the latter were accused of siphoning off the welfare subsidy fund of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by creating 260,000 fake home loan accounts under the same scheme under the guise of a non-existent branch (“The Bandra Books”).HOW COULD ONE OPEN FAKE BANK ACCOUNTS AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL DEMONETIZATION AND THE AADHAAR-PAN LINKING PROCESS? AN OPEN LETTER TO MODIJI: THE HORNS OF THE DEMONETIZATION DILEMMA VIEW HERE ⤡
19.05.2021	The NCLT ordered the CoC to reconsider DHFL’s erstwhile promoter Wadhawan’s offer of 100% repayment within 10 days. NCLT order on the DHFL-case ⤡ [IA 2431 of 2020 in CP (IB) 4258/MB/C-II/2019 Under Section 60 (5), 227 (2), 239 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016] points 16-19 and 84-89.
25.05.2021	NCLAT set aside NCLT’s order after the Union Bank of India and Ajay Piramal approached the NCLAT with an urgent petition. The CoC did not even bother to answer the NCLT.HOW DID MR. AJAY PIRAMAL GET SUCH JUDICIAL PRIVILEGE IN NCLAT, GIVEN THE NUMBER OF PENDING CASES IN THE INDIAN COURTS?Piramal is more equal than the other 98%!VIEW HERE ⤡
07.06.2021	NCLT is forced to approve the resolution plan in favour of the Piramals.
14.06.2021	DHFL’s shares got delisted on BSE & NSE.
03.08.2021T	The Standing Committee of the Parliament of India on Finance raps IBC over unsustainable haircuts, says 13,000 cases worth Rs 9 lakh crore are pending. The committee recommended that the design and implementation of IBC must be revisited and a benchmark must be set for the quantum of haircuts. Thus, the conduct of CoCs under IBC got questioned.
September 2021	Mr. Ajay Piramal started disbursing merely 23% of the total FD amount to the respective FD Holders of DHFL, the rest of the amount going for a major haircut. Financial deprivation (curtailment of business-related human rights due to financial abuse) of thousands of FD and NCD Holders is apparent.
27.01.2022	Following the case filed by 63 Moons Technologies (the case questioned the deal of Piramal’s resolution plan, wherein the approx. 45k crore worth of assets were bought by paying only a rupee. 63 Moons cited the Section 66 of the IBC, which provides for the benefit of all the creditors of the insolvent company) the NCLAT passed an order that declared the illegality of the DHFL CoC, its conduct and the allocation of the resolution amount as well.NCLAT asks CoC to consider 63 moons’ plea in DHFL Resolution Plan VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 27th January, 2022 ©The Times of India) NCLAT-ORDER-27-01-2022-1
01.03.2022	Piramal approached the Supreme Court, challenging the NCLAT Second Order.
08.03.2022	Wadhawan approached the Supreme Court with his previous offer that was rejected by the CoC.
11.04.2022	The Supreme Court stayed the NCLAT Order. Despite the fact that the case is under adjudication or sub judice, Piramal CHF acquired DHFL by using dubious company names: Piramal CHF and Piramal Finance.Cf.· AN RTI ON “WHO OWNS DHFL NOW: PCHF OR PIRAMAL FINANCE?” VIEW HERE ⤡· The Dilemma of schizophrenic selves: the changing names of companies under the Piramal Group: A letter to Mr. Ajay Piramal VIEW HERE ⤡· An RTI to the Department of Legal Affairs regarding the disputed ownership status of the DHFL VIEW HERE ⤡
23.04.2022	The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan siphoned off funds worth Rs 5,050 crore through suspicious transactions to fill up the gaps created by terror-funding/political charity.
25.06.2022	The BJP received 27.5 crore worth of donations from the scam-hit DHFL, the Congress declared.
11.08.2022	Government appoints four independent & unofficial directors on RBI central board, perhaps due to the incompetency of RBI Governor Mr. Shaktikanta Das (MA History)!

Therefore, considering the above scenario in its entirety, we are smelling the rat in the DHFL⤡ resolution process⤡.The above table shows the loopholes and cleavages of this case, which is transparently opaque due to the covert control of the terror-funded ruling party as an agency within the ambit of the shadow economy. Especially, we are over-emphasizing the following four events for your kind attention:
a) NCLT First order, ordering the DHFL CoC for a reconsideration of Mr. Kapil Wadhawan’s resolution plan or settlement proposal;b) Reverting back of the above order by NCLAT— a case of manipulative tour de force (As you rightly said:“Justice done can quickly be undone.”);c) NCLAT Second Verdict, which has definitively unveiled the illegitimacy of the RBI-appointed DHFL-CoC, without questioning the wis(h)dom of the CoC under the IBC Act

⤡;d) The Hon’ble Supreme Court’s Stay Order on the NCLAT Second Verdict, ensuring that Mr. Ajay Piramal, an alleged insider trader, secondary relative of a favoured business tycoon, can play with the dubious names of his housing finance company, as noted above. We cannot help but restate you statement: “Justice done can quickly be undone.”
We, the DHFL Victims, need to have such hastened undoing of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s stay order on the NCLAT Second order after scrutinizing various overt and covert variables that control this event of delayed and denied justice.
We are expecting from your kind self with conscience that a suo moto cognizance should be filed to rescue the DHFL Victims from the infringement of their Business-related rights as guaranteed by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The small investors of DHFL, who have been deprived of their financial rights, include senior citizens, physically challenged persons, ailing patients and widows of the Indian Army personnel (therefore, the question of gender justice is also involved here). Many of the small investors depended greatly on the interests given by DHFL to get their basic means of subsistence, especially during the p(l)andemic⤡ and the economic downfall marked by a marked decrease in GDP coupled with hyper-inflation that the country has witnessed in the past couple of years.

Thus, DHFL Victims are suffering from a different kind of “capital” punishment, even though they did not commit any legally prohibited acts by depositing their money at an AAA-rated (NBFC) Shadow Bank. The fundamental Right to Life as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India is being hampered in this context. We reckon that you have constantly emphasized on the necessity of both personal and economic liberties of all the legal persons.

That being the case, the victims cannot afford to file an expensive case at the Hon’ble Supreme Court all by themselves.

We are citing the following enunciations, otherwise self-blaming by several legal aid providers:

Here’s proof that poor get gallows, rich mostly escape. VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on JULY 21, 2015 © The Times on India)
Judiciary ramshackled, going to court is useless: Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 14th February, 2021) © The Indian Express
‘If you go to court, you don’t get a verdict,’ says former CJI Ranjan Gogoi VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on Feb 13, 2021 ©Scroll.in)
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, in an NDTV interview⤡ (12/11/2020) reiterated Hon. Justice Krishna Iyer, “Jurisprudence has gone astray, seem jail is rule, bail exception.”

Therefore, we are close to losing our faith in the Indian Judiciary⤡, though we wish to regain the paradise as it was during the period 1972-1985 under the able grip of the Honourable “Iron Hand”. The Collegium of the Supreme Court should maintain its compartmentalized, independent existence at the time of political manipulation.

Keeping in mind the dictum “International law is the vanishing point of jurisprudence”, if sovereign government cuts a sorry figure to implement the universal statutes on human rights, a financially abused person has to take his/her recourse to the vanishing point, i.e., parallel international “law”. We have already pleaded for justice by means of several mass petitions. The petitions are given as follows:

Hence, in conclusion, the tedious hike across the steep mountain of distributive justice necessitates us to become absurd, marginalized heroes and heroines in the image of the immortal Sisyphus (a la Camus).

Yours Sincerely,

Dr. Debaprasad Bandyopadhyay

Mrs. Rupa Bandyopadhyay

Mr. Akhar Bandyopadhyay

A Victimized Family of Bewildered, Beleaguered, Perplexed, Anguished, Anxious, Hapless, Helpless and Ailing DHFL FD Holders

ON BEHALF OF ALL ANGUISHED, AILING DHFL FD, NCD AND SHAREHOLDERS [USUAL DISCLAIMERS APPLY]

बहुजनहिताय बहुजनसुखाय च॥

(“For the happiness of the many, for the welfare of the many”)

COPY TO:

1. The Honourable Minister of Law and Justice, the Government of India