PMC Bank fraud case: Supreme Court declines to entertain Rakesh Wadhawan's bail plea

Rakesh Wadhawan. File Pic

The Supreme Court has declined to entertain a plea by businessman Rakesh Wadhawan, accused of money laundering in the multi-crore rupees Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank fraud case, seeking bail on health grounds.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, asked the petitioner's counsel to seek relief from the concerned high court. As senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the petitioner, said the high court had declined to give relief to his client, the bench said: "File after some time. Not now. Alright permitted to withdraw to approach the high court."

Rohatgi referred to the medical condition of the accused and submitted before the bench that his client has been in jail for quite some time. The bench permitted the counsel to withdraw the bail plea with the liberty to approach the high court.

On October 14, the Bombay High Court had refused to grant bail to Wadhawan, who is founder of Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL). The Enforcement Directorate arrested him in 2019 in the case.

The high court had noted that denial of medical bail was in no way a breach of his fundamental right to life, and pointed out that he had been provided adequate medical treatment by the state prison authorities, whenever required. In September 2019, the Reserve Bank of India discovered the fraud that the bank had allegedly created fictitious accounts to hide over Rs 4,355 crore of loans extended to almost-bankrupt HDIL.

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