The Karnataka High Court has opted not to quash the criminal proceedings against the co-founder of the V-Care Learning App, who is implicated in a ₹200 crore fraud case, as per the case R Venkatesh v State of Karnataka. On Thursday, Justice M Nagaprasanna determined that the accusations pointed to significant acts of deception under the guise of educational services provided through the app, resulting in numerous victims.
The court emphasized that it was unnecessary to dismiss the case against the co-founder, who played a key role in establishing the ed-tech company alleged to have committed extensive fraud. Justice Nagaprasanna noted, “The summary of the chargesheet depicts glaring acts of cheating on behalf of the petitioner who on the garb of a learning app is said to have cheated several persons to the tune of Rs 200 crores. Therefore, the BUDS Act and KPIDFE Act have been invoked in the case at hand. There can be no warrant of interference, the offences being so against the petitioner and the petitioner being the accused no.6 as also the one who has established the firm with other accused.”
The petitioner’s request to quash the case was accordingly denied by the court.
The petitioner, along with former film producer N Veerendra Babu and others, reportedly founded Aryan Infotech Pvt Ltd and launched the V-Care Online Learning App. The prosecution alleges that the app’s promoters amassed approximately ₹200 crore from individuals across Karnataka, promising educational classes through the app that were never delivered.
Furthermore, it’s alleged that the accused solicited deposits from the public with promises of political party election tickets for the ‘Rashtriya Janhita Party’, which they established, and positions in Karnataka Rakshana Pade.
In 2022, a criminal case was filed against the accused, charging them with multiple offenses under the Indian Penal Code, including cheating, breach of trust, and forgery. They were also charged under the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act, 2019, and the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments (KPIDFE) Act, 2004.
R Venkatesh, the sixth accused in the case, sought relief from the High Court in 2023, aiming to have the criminal proceedings against him dismissed. However, the High Court rejected his plea in an order issued on the previous day.
