New Delhi– The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected a bail plea of Managing Director of the real estate firm Vigneshwara Group of Companies (VGC) Sunil Dahiya who was arrested for allegedly duping nearly 560 investors of nearly Rs 230 crore.

Justice Vipin Sanghi dismissed the bail plea of Dahiya, saying the “nature and gravity” of accusations against Dahiya is “serious”.

Dahiya has been in judicial custody since October 30, 2014, after being arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi police.

He was arrested following complaints from investors, who had put monies in two projects for construction of IT parks, one in Gurgaon and the other in Manesar.

The accused company purchased various properties owned by the complainants, and invested the amount to be paid to the complainants in the projects, alleged the complaint against Dahiya.

The complainants also alleged that he did not complete the construction in time and there is no construction activity at all at the project sites since 2013, and despite a lapse of six to seven years, possession of the booked units has still not been offered.

The chargesheet filed in the case also named Sanjay Dahiya and Daryao Singh, brother and father of Sunil Dahiya.

In its order, the court said: “Even the developments to be undertaken under the project were not done and not a single unit was delivered to any of the investors. Over 1,000 innocent people have been taken for a ride by the applicant (Dahiya), and the amount involved is also very large.”

It added: “The grant of regular bail in a case involving such a large magnitude of money, affecting a very large number of people would also have an adverse impact not only in the progress of the case, but also on the trust of the criminal justice system that people repose.”