Bombay High Court Discharges Former DSKDL Executive In DS Kulkarni Financial Fraud Case

Mumbai, September 28, 2026: The Bombay High Court has acquitted Kedar Prakash Vanjape, a former Vice-President of D.S. Kulkarni Developers Ltd. (DSKDL), of all criminal charges in the D.S. Kulkarni financial fraud case. Justice Shivkumar Dige overturned an earlier ruling by the Special MPID Court in Pune, which had dismissed Vanjape's discharge request. The court dismissed all charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act.

The court heard an appeal by Vanjape, represented by advocates Sandesh More and Hitendra Gandhi, against the Pune court's decision. The court reviewed that Vanjape had resigned from his position as Vice-President of the company's engineering department in August 2009. Investigation reports and witness statements showed that the company had started accepting public deposits in January 2010, months after Vanjape had left the firm.

Justice Dige pointed out that Vanjape was no longer an employee when the deposits were collected and thus could not be considered part of any conspiracy or fraudulent schemes.

The court examined a land transaction at Fursungi, Pune, involving Vanjape's wife (the niece of main accused D.S. Kulkarni). The property was bought by Vanjape's wife and later resold to DSKDL. However, the court emphasized that the purchase was approved by DSKDL's Board of Directors. Justice Dige clarified that Vanjape was merely a salaried employee and did not have any decision-making power over board resolutions.

The court ruled that criminal liability is personal and cannot be imposed based solely on marriage, past employment, or family relationships without evidence of direct personal involvement.

The High Court dismissed the case against Vanjape, stating that continuing legal proceedings would be an abuse of the court process due to the lack of a prima facie case against him.