What is the purpose of continuing Ferreira’s custody: HC
Justice Sadhana Jadhav of the Bombay High Court has raised a very pertinent question while hearing the bail plea of Padmabhushan Michael Ferreira in the alleged case of cheating filed against him in the QNET matter. Justice Jadhav reportedly asked the public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat about the purpose of keeping an 80-year old behind bars when the probe was completed and the chargesheet filed.
Michael Ferreira and three other accused had surrendered on September 30, 2016 on directions of the Supreme Court which had rejected their anticipatory bail. Though the matter stood adjourned for hearing at a future date, the raising of the questions provides the much-needed hope of a bail being granted now that the investigations were over and the chargesheet filled.
The company now hopes that with the conclusion of investigation, the officials who voluntarily surrendered to the police for custodial enquiry will now be released, as the legal procedures would take their own course and time. The company has posed complete faith in the judiciary and spelt out unconditionally to abide by its due process.
QNet has on earlier occasions reiterated that it is a legitimate direct selling company and does not solicit any investments, take deposits or offer any jobs to its independent representatives. The question of running a Ponzi scheme or an investment scheme simply does not arise said a company spokesperson.
All products are sold through the company’s eCommerce platform. Those who enrol as independent representatives have the opportunity to earn commissions from product sales he added.
“It is interesting to note that in the case of QNet, the company has neither promoted any investment nor collected deposits in any scheme as alleged by the law enforcing agencies. Further, the Hon’ble Supreme Court was pleased to dismiss the petitions filed against Amway India under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 and other acts.” says Advocate Vishwanathan Iyer an expert from the legal fraternity who has been observing the developments around the legal angles involving the direct selling industry in India very closely.
Meanwhile, the newly released guidelines for companies in the direct selling industry in India from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is a very good move towards regulating the direct selling business.
This is a huge step forward for companies in the direct selling space which have been plagued by baseless allegations and confusion around their business model for many years. These guidelines are expected to help weed out fraudulent players, allow serious companies to grow and ensure protection of consumers.
According to reports, the direct selling industry is presently is going through a lot of unwarranted trouble and the morale of distributors is said to be low due to the prevailing ambiguity over the industry's legal status. The direct selling industry in India is currently estimated to be at Rs 7,200 crore and is expected to grow exponentially to Rs 64,000 by 2025.QNET expects a steady growth of approximately 20% over the next year in its turnover and it expects its India Independent Representative base to see a healthy increase over the next two years of about 45% from the current base, said a company spokesperson.
It has also chalked out elaborate plans of investing in manufacturing in India over the next five years and has earmarked close to Rs 300 crore for this
purpose.