The Bombay High Court yesterday came down heavily on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the way it had investigated the Kingfisher Airlines-IDBI Bank loan scam
Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya
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The Bombay High Court yesterday came down heavily on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the way it had investigated the Kingfisher Airlines-IDBI Bank loan scam. The court observed that the principal accused, Vijay Mallya, former chairperson of the now defunct airline, was allowed to flee by the agency, which was now under pressure and catching people without following any legal mandate. Justice Sadhana Jadhav was hearing the bail application of former chairman of IDBI Bank Yogesh Agarwal and then head of corporate banking BK Batra, who were arrested by the CBI in the scam.
The two claimed that they were arrested by the agency on January 23, a day before filing a chargesheet in the matter. Special CBI court judge HS Mahajan had rejected their bail applications after the CBI had claimed that around R900 crore were given to Kingfisher Airlines as loan by the bank without following proper procedure.
The two yesterday claimed before the court that they can’t be kept in judicial custody indefinitely, considering the CBI had already completed investigations in the matter.
Justice Jadhav then questioned the CBI on what grounds it wanted them kept in judicial custody longer. “This is a white-collared crime and there is no question of tampering with evidence as all of it is already with you (CBI). If at all, you think they are hardened criminals, you should tell us under what provisions of law can we keep them in further custody,” she said.
Justice Jadhav has reserved the bail orders and is likely to pass them on March 14.
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