The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, who have been accused of money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate in the multi-crore Yes Bank fraud case.
The brothers, however, will remain in jail as they have also been booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the same case. Justice Bharati Dangre granted them default bail as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) failed to file its chargesheet in the case within the stipulated 60-day period.
The court noted that there is a period prescribed inlaw for filing of the charge sheet, and an accused cannot be kept in custody even for a day after the stipulated time and they have the right to default bail.
An accused can seek default bail if the investigating agency fails to file a charge sheet against him or her in the case within the period prescribed under section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for ED, sought the court to stay its order for two weeks so that the agency could appeal in the Supreme Court. Justice Dangre, however, refused and said once the right of default bail is due, the accused cannot be kept in custody thereafter even for a day. The court directed the duo to deposit Rs one lakh eac has surety and surrender their passports.
The brothers had sought bail claiming the ED failed to file its charge sheet within the stipulated period of 60 days. They were arrested by the ED on May 14 on money laundering charges. The ED filed its charge sheet on July 15 against the Wadhawans, Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, his wife Bindu Kapoor, daughters Roshni and Rekha, and their chartered accountant firm Dularesh K Jain and Associate.
The Enforcement Directorate had initiated proceedings in the case after the CBI registered an FIR on March 7, 2020 in connection with alleged suspicious loans granted by Yes Bank and the 'quid pro quo' between Rana Kapoor and the Wadhawans.
According to the CBI and ED, Yes Bank is alleged to have invested around Rs 3,700 crore in short-term non-convertible debentures of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) between April and June 2018. Rana Kapoor allegedly received Rs 600 crore as kickbacks from DHFL in terms of loan advanced to two firms-DOIT Urban Ventures (India) Private Limited and Morgan Credits Private Limited. According to the probe agencies, Rana Kapoors daughters hold 100 per cent stakes in DOIT and his wife controlled Morgan Credits.
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