PUNE: The Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court has refused bail to Vishwajit Jadhav, son-in-law of the late Jagannath Shetty—renowned for the iconic Vaishali Restaurant—who is accused of embezzling nearly ₹4.93 crore through a fraudulent loan scheme involving forged documents.
Jadhav, who is married to Nikita Shetty, was arrested after allegedly securing a ₹5 crore loan using fake signatures and counterfeit stamps. The court noted that a significant portion of the embezzled funds remains untraceable and emphasized that granting bail at this stage could obstruct the ongoing investigation. JMFC Alok Pandey remarked that the alleged offense could carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and the fact that Jadhav is currently repaying the loan does not absolve the fraudulent means used to acquire it.
The accused has been remanded to Yerwada Central Jail. The court observed that his associates are still on the run, further reinforcing the need to keep him in custody.
The case originated from a complaint lodged by Nikita Shetty (34), a resident of Modibaug, at the Deccan Gymkhana police station. Based on her allegations, police registered a case against Jadhav (41), Ravi Ramchandra Pardeshi of R.R. Finance, and Rajesh Devchandra Chaudhary (42), the manager of Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Yerawada branch. The alleged crime occurred between December 7, 2022, and October 3, 2023, at the office of Nikita Hospitality LLP on Gokhale Road.
Earlier, the Bombay High Court had rejected the anticipatory bail pleas of all three accused, including Jadhav. Despite being remanded to judicial custody, Jadhav sought regular bail, which was opposed by Assistant Public Prosecutor Amar Nanavare.
Investigators revealed that Jadhav fraudulently mortgaged a flat owned by the complainant, using fake documents and without the owners’ consent. Bank officials allegedly failed to meet the complainants or carry out proper e-KYC verification. Part of the loan amount was transferred directly into Jadhav’s account using cheques bearing forged signatures.
According to Nanavare, ₹3.25 crore of the total amount is still unaccounted for, and the co-accused have yet to be apprehended. He also highlighted that both the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court have previously dismissed bail petitions filed by the accused.
After considering arguments from both sides, the JMFC court denied bail to Jadhav, citing the seriousness of the allegations and the ongoing nature of the investigation.
