SC Stays Criminal Proceedings Against IREO MD Lalit Goyal, Oberoi Realty Chairman Vikas Oberoi

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 21st June. The Supreme Court has stayed criminal proceedings against Lalit Goyal, Managing Director of IREO Group, and Vikas Oberoi, Chairman and Managing Director of Oberoi Realty Limited. The proceedings were initiated following serious allegations of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and forgery.

A vacation bench comprising Justices PV Sanjay Kumar and Augustine George Masih issued a stay order on further actions related to the FIR registered against the two prominent figures in the real estate sector. This decision came in response to pleas filed by IREO and Oberoi groups challenging a recent order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which upheld the FIR’s registration.

The FIR, initiated on the complaint of Advance India Projects Limited (AIPL), alleges a conspiracy by IREO and Oberoi groups to defraud investors who had invested substantial sums in their projects since 2013. AIPL has accused IREO of embezzling approximately ₹1,777 crore, including ₹1,376 crore collected as advances from project allottees.

According to the complainant, the fraud not only harmed individual investors but also caused significant financial loss to AIPL, which had entered agreements to complete projects in collaboration with IREO. The complaint further asserts that after disputes with AIPL were settled, IREO allegedly entered into agreements with Oberoi Group in violation of prior terms, leading to additional losses for AIPL.

The case registered against nine individuals, including Goyal and Oberoi, includes charges under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged document), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Supreme Court, while issuing the stay order, emphasized the need for further examination into whether the filing of the second complaint constitutes an abuse of legal process and if the complainant approached the court with “unclean hands.” The Haryana government has been issued notice in this regard.

The stay on the proceedings marks a temporary reprieve for Lalit Goyal and Vikas Oberoi, pending further judicial deliberations on the complexities of the case.