Attack and Counter-attack: a letter to PCHFL's Legal Team

Posted on 22/04/2023 (GMT 08:45 hrs)

Updated on: 23/01/2023 (GMT 1:38 pm)

In continuation to our previous letters to the DSK Legal Team⤡, the legal advisors of Mr. Ajay Piramal’s company: PCHFL and/or Piramal Finance and/or DHFL, we wrote the following mail to the legal team on 21/04/2023. We are successful enough to make an impact on PCHFL through web-based non-violent civil disobedience movement. Mr. Ajay Piramal, a billionaire (net worth: 2.9 billion USD as on 2023), is perturbed by our small movement. The David and Goliath War continues:

Dear DSK Legal Team,

I would like to present to you certain facts and observations on your client’s legal suit.

Please treat this letter as a de facto answer to your client/plaintiff, not as a de jure letter since I cannot afford to hire expensive legal advisors after the disaster of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL).

I. COMMUNICATION GAP

1. At the outset, in response to your legal updates, I must mention that I replied twice (On 3rd April, 2023 and on 11th April, 2023) to your mails. However, you never did answer my points of concern, which were raised through those mails. Kindly note that this is my third letter to you.

Hence, your enunciation on the mail dated 19/04/2023 that: “Despite the aforesaid, we have received no further communication and/or any details from your end.” It is not a true accusation on your part as per the empirical proof provided above.

2. Why are you pressurizing me to furnish my full name and address, since all these are already available with your client/plaintiff as part of the DHFL FD Holders’ records? Not only name and address, but other personal details are also easily accessible through these records. Moreover, one simple Google search with my name will provide you with the information that you need regarding me.

3. On several occasions, I personally corresponded with Mr. Ajay Piramal in positive terms during the resolution process of the DHFL both through electronic medium as well as through snail mail. Hence, my residential address has to be available with him. I sent him all these correspondence on the basis of my initial conjecture that Mr. Piramal is an ardent, non-violent vaisnava practicing humility and compassion. I personally invited him to my residence, which is surrounded by the remnants of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda tradition with a map of my residence cum neighbourhood (after knowing his devotion to the ideas of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda) and promised to offer him poor Vidura’s hospitality to Krsna with widow’s mite. (For viewing the letter sent to Mr. Piramal on 29/12/2020, open the attached file entitled “Gmail- A PERSONAL LETTER OF INVITATION…” and for the file that was attached along with that mail, click the attached file entitled “ITINERARY FOR VISITING OUR PLACE, BARANAGAR, THE ABODE OF SPIRITUALITY“)

gmail-a-personal-letter-of-invitation-to-the-abode-of-sri-ramakrishna-and-swami-vivekananda Download

itinerary-for-visiting-our-place-baranagar-the-abode-of-spirituality Download

4. Someone named Vaibhav Nagori (Cell No: +919967004313) from PCHFL (most probably belonging to the GROUP CFO Office at that time) called me on my cell number on 18^th January, 2021, to talk to me about my congratulatory notes to Mr. Piramal. Thus, my cell no. is also available with him. I also conversed with him through the medium of Whatsapp with the trust of friendship.

II. MY AIMS/OBJECTIVES

1. I don’t have any intention or motive to defame your plaintiff Mr. Ajay Piramal in any manner. If one is defaming oneself by one’s own (mis)deeds (karma), especially a paramavaisnava like Mr. Ajay Piramal, who else can further defame that person anymore? I have become a pauper due to the DHFL massacre by losing my hard-earned life-savings due to the massive haircut. My mental health has been adversely affected due to this, as I am presently suffering from anxiety disorders and other psychosomatic cum neurological disorders. Fellow sufferers, mostly senior citizens, physically challenged persons or widows/widowers, have often called me with suicidal thoughts during the past years. I have tried my best to heal them but not always been able to soothe their nerves and calm their cries.

I was desperately trying to reveal the “factual/empirical truth” about the paramavaisnava and history of his “hostile” (as used by newspapers) takeover of a solvent AAA rated company, viz. the DHFL—nothing more than that!

2. Let me cite the Mr. Ajay Piramal’s (henceforth we will refer to him as “paramavaisnava”) past deeds as follows:

· The Paramavaisnava was accused when the Union Minister Piyush Goyal (Bharatiya Janata Party‘s elected Member of Parliament) sold his firm to paramavaisnava at almost 1000 percent premium, four months after Goyal became a Minister in the Government of India in 2014. Thus, paramavaisnava was part-and-parcel of this alleged financial fraud.

In Selling Firm to Piramal Group as Minister, Piyush Goyal Pushes Ethical Boundaries VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 28^th April, 2018 ©The Wire)

· The paramavaisnava was accused for violating insider trading regulations in 2016 and was fined Rs. 6 lakh for the same by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). However, SEBI’s allegation of paramavaisnava as an insider trader was turned down by the SAT.

SEBI Finds Piramal Enterprises, Ajay Piramal Guilty Of Violating Insider Trading Regulations VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 3^rd October, 2016 © BloombergQuint)

SAT sets aside Sebi’s order against Piramal Ent, others in insider trading control lapses case VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 15^th May, 2019 ©The Business Standard)

Piramal Enterprises fined Rs.6 lakh for insider trading VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 5^th October, 2016 ©The News Bytes)

· During the DHFL CIRP:

Ø On 19/05/2021, the NCLT ordered the CoC to reconsider DHFL’s ex-promoter’s proposal for full repayment within 10 days. However, Mr. Piramal and the CoC rushed to the NCLAT to get the order revoked within a few days (on 25/05/2021) without even bothering to answer NCLT’s order within the stipulated time period. Was this not a contempt of court?

Excerpt from the NCLT Order

Ø On 27/01/2022, the NCLAT ruled in the 63 Moons Technologies case that there are illegalities, material irregularities and legally void spaces in Mr. Piramal’s resolution plan and the resolution process as a whole. Without even paying any heed to NCLAT’s observations, Mr. Piramal again rushed to the Supreme Court (01.03.2022) of India to get the order revoked within a month or so (11.04.2022).

[It is to be mentioned that this extremely pertinent order was not mentioned in the Hon’ble Bombay High Court’s Order on this Interim Application]

Excerpts from the NCLAT Order

For More Information: A WHITE PAPER ON THE DEWAN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION LTD. (DHFL) VIEW HERE ⤡

How did he get such speedy justice in every case when more than 5000 cases are still pending in the Indian courts?

Is Mr. Piramal more equal than other in receiving such preferential judicial treatment as compared to the other common Indian citizens? VIEW HERE ⤡

Consider another instance:

· In a recent interview with Karan Thapar, Mr. Satyapal Malik, ex-governor of J&K, said that all appointments with the President are approved by the PMO. Mr. Malik was not allowed to visit the President while Mr. Piramal got into Rashtrapati Bhavan with relative ease. How so?

Ajay Piramal and Dr Swati Piramal meet Draupadi Murmu; Discussed initiatives taken by Piramal Foundation VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 25th March, 2023 ©Business Today)

President’s invitees need Prime Minister’s clearance, alleges former governor and MP Satya Pal Malik VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 16th April, 2023 ©The Leaflet)

Does the Prime Minister's Office have full control over the appointments made by India's President Draupadi Murmu? Satyapal Malik says yes.

Watch his full interview with Karan Thapar here: https://t.co/47ENX7WzM2 pic.twitter.com/0qw4myvikT
— The Wire (@thewire_in) April 14, 2023

3. With regard to the issue of “geo-blocking” or global blocking or even the general issue of “censorship” in contemporary India, I request you to consider the following recent instances:

· The BBC Documentary “India: the Modi Question” was supposedly banned by the Indian Government for allegedly “tarnishing” India’s “image”. However, several online sites uploaded the documentary and the same got circulated widely after this so-called “ban” at the age of the social media explosion and the VPN software.

· The film “Pathaan” (2023) was condemned by a large section of the ruling party’s associates and was supposedly “taken down” from the theatres. However, Pathaan turned out to be a blockbuster.

· Disqualification of Mr. Rahul Gandhi from the Parliament within 24 hours over the present government’s inability to answer his pertinent critical questions amplified the political popularity of Mr. Rahul Gandhi.

· After the Caravan report published confidential documents or classified reports on the Gujarat riot and the involvement of the ruling party on 23/03/2023, the present government could do nothing to prevent it.

Now turning to the present case, I must heartily congratulate you for your poor investigation and so-called tiresome research on the social media platforms as we, the DHFL FD Holders, have used so many platforms so that it will be impossible for you to geologically or locally block every contents as we have used 10+ handles keeping in mind the sanctity of our constitution, especially the Article 19.

4. Regarding the Interim Application’s relief of “100 crores” for damage of reputation and the loss suffered by PCHFL therein, I would like to cite one of the recent orders of the Karnataka High Court:

100 Crore Defamation Case: Application Under Order 38 Rule 5 Of CPC Cannot Be Filed In Such A Suit- Karnataka HC Rules VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 4th April, 2023 ©Verdictum)

III. Polymorphous Power-Game

In the play “The Red Oleanders”, Rabindranath Tagore depicted the act of subversion by the King in breaking the symbols of his own power:

KING। To fight against me, but with your hand in mine. That fight has already begun. There is my flag. First I break the Flagstaff, thus! Next it’s for you to tear its banner. Let your hand unite with mine to kill me.

GUARDS। [rushing up] What are you doing, King? You dare break the Flagstaff, the holiest symbol of our divinity? The Flagstaff which has its one point piercing the heart of the earth and the other that of heaven! What a terrible sin, on the very day of the Flag-worship! Comrades, let us go and inform our Governors.

I hope that my account of the entire matter shall help your legal team in proceeding with your intended course of action after going through the above discursive formation, where the powerful King himself is destroying the sceptre of iconic power and joins hands with the insurgent subjects to get rid of hierarchical subjugation, objectification and subjection.

A HUMBLE APPEAL

As a paramavaisnava and the torchbearer of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda tradition, I expect that Mr. Piramal will hear the cries of the DHFL FD and NCD Holders. Following the path of his grandfather, Seth Chaturbhuj Piramal Makharia, the great philanthropist, we hope that Mr. Piramal will likewise uphold the noble virtue of dana as a trustee of Lord Vishnu.

Yours Sincerely,

Dr. Debaprasad Bandyopadhyay

ON BEHALF OF ALL ANGUISHED, AILING DHFL FD AND NCD HOLDERS (Usual disclaimers apply)

बहुजनहिताय बहुजनसुखाय च॥

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

APPENDIX:

1. “I have no desire to convince you that they (lawyers) have never done a single good thing…That the Congress owes the lawyers something is believable. Lawyers are also men, and there is something good in every man. Whenever instances of lawyers having done good can be brought forward, it will be found that the good is due to them as men rather than as lawyers. All I am concerned with is to show you that the profession teaches immorality; it is exposed to temptation from which few are saved. The Hindus and the Mahomedans have quarreled. An ordinary man will ask them to forget all about it; he will tell them that both must be more or less at fault, and will advise them no longer to quarrel. But they go to lawyers. The latter’s duty is to side with their clients and to find out ways and arguments in favour of the clients to which they (the clients) are often strangers. If they do not do so they will be considered to have degraded their profession. The lawyers, therefore, will, as a rule, advance quarrels instead of repressing them. Moreover, men take up that profession, not in order to help others out of their miseries, but to enrich themselves. It is one of the avenues of becoming wealthy and their interest exists in multiplying disputes. It is within my knowledge that they are glad when men have disputes. Petty pleaders actually manufacture them. Their touts, like so many leeches, suck the blood of the poor people. Lawyers are men who have little to do. Lazy people, in order to indulge in luxuries, take up such professions. This is a true statement. Any other argument is a mere pretension. It is the lawyers who have discovered that theirs is an honourable profession. They frame laws as they frame their own praises. They decide what fees they will charge and they put on so much side that poor people almost consider them to be heaven-born. Why do they want more fees than common labourers? Why are their requirements greater? In what way are they more profitable to the country than the labourers? Are those who do good entitled to greater payment? And, if they have done anything for the country for the sake of money, how shall it be counted as good? ….Those who want to perpetuate their power do so through the courts. If people were to settle their own quarrels, a third party would not be able to exercise any authority over them. Truly, men were less unmanly when they settled their disputes either by fighting or by asking their relatives to decide for them. They became more unmanly and cowardly when they resorted to the courts of law. It was certainly a sign of savagery when they settled their disputes by fighting. Is it any the less so, if I ask a third party to decide between you and me? Surely, the decision of a third party is not always right. The parties alone know who is right. We, in our simplicity and ignorance, imagine that a stranger, by taking our money, gives us justice.” — M. K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj (1915)

2. मुन्ना भाई ने वकीलों में कराया झगड़ा VIEW HERE ⤡

Copy to:

1. Mr. Ajay Gopikisan Piramal Makharia