DHFL loan case: Delhi HC grants bail to Dheeraj Wadhawan on medical grounds | Company News

Senior advocate Amit Desai appeared through video conferencing and senior advocate Siddharth Agrawal appeared in person. Advocate Anupam S Sharma appeared for the CBI and opposed the bail application.

His earlier bail application was withdrawn by the Delhi High Court on May 17. He had filed his bail application after his arrest in the DHFL bank loan case. His bail application was rejected by the court twice.

Special Judge of Rouse Avenue Court AK Sarpal on May 10 rejected his bail application on the grounds that it was not viable. The court had also directed the CBI to arrest him after May 11 and produce him before the CBI court as per the Supreme Court's January 24 direction.

The CBI court at Rouse Avenue rejected the bail application and said that after his arrest and transfer to this court, the accused will be at liberty to file a fresh bail application at which point his application for grant of interim bail on medical grounds or regular bail, if filed, will be considered.

However, the bail application was rejected by the court after his arrest. The court also stated that at this point in time, the first order of the Supreme Court dated January 24, 2024, for the detention of the accused must be followed.

The Bombay High Court had previously granted him protection on medical grounds until May 11.

He was hospitalized and underwent surgery. After being released from the hospital, he was treated at home before his arrest.

The Supreme Court on January 24 set aside a Delhi High Court order granting bail to former Dewan Housing Finance Ltd. (DHFL) founders Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj Wadhawan in connection with a multi-crore rupee bank loan scam. The top court had set aside the bail granted to the Wadhawan brothers.

It said the Supreme Court and the Court of First Instance had erred in granting bail to the Wadhawans by default.

“We have no concerns that the defendants could not have claimed bail after the chargesheet was filed and the notice was given in time. The High Court and the Lower Court made major mistakes. The Court of First Instance should reconsider the regular bail. Appeals are accordingly allowed,” the court said when announcing the verdict.

The Supreme Court had set aside the findings of the High Court and the Court of First Instance and said the Wadhawan brothers could not exercise their legal right to bail as other accused were still under investigation.

In this case, the CBI had filed the chargesheet on the 88th day of registration of the FIR and the court granted them bail and the Delhi High Court upheld the order. The chargesheet was filed and cognized on October 15, 2022.

The court had granted them bail, pointing out that the chargesheet filed by the CBI was incomplete. They were arrested in this case on July 19, 2023. The FIR in this case was based on a complaint filed by the Union Bank of India.

First published: 09 September 2024 | 13:51 IS