The Bombay High Court has recently rejected the bail application of Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor in connection with the DHFL loan case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Earlier, Justice Prakash Naik refused bail plea of Kapoor stating that though he is in custody for 3 years, the public money involvement shows that the charge is serious.
On March 8, 2020, Kapoor was arrested by the ED and has been in custody since. ED then claimed that Kapoor in a criminal conspiracy with DHFL promoters Dheeraj Wadhawan & Kapil Wadhawan extended undue financial benefit to the company that got kickbacks in remit.
Between April – June 2018, while the bank invested an amount of Rs 3,700 crore in short-term non-convertible debentures of DHFL. Therefore, the ED alleged that Kapil paid a kickback of Rs 600 crore in the garb of loan to companies linked to Kapoor.
The HC said that, “Applicant (Kapoor) is one of the main accused in the complaint. He has misused his official position to gain undue financial benefit for him and his family members and associates. He is involved in bribery, corruption and money laundering activities. The Proceeds of Crime involved in this case is to the extent of Rs 5,333 crore. It is alleged that the applicant had siphoned off huge amount of POC out of India through his family group owned/controlled companies. Out of the proceeds of crime of Rs 600 crore, Rs 378 crore have been invested overseas. Investment relating to the exact layering of Proceeds of Crime is still under investigation,” the HC said. “…considering the role of applicant in the crime, the magnitude and seriousness of crime, the applicant is not entitled for bail.”
Kapoor through lawyers Aabad Ponda and Rahul Agarwal, submitted his previous bail plea that got rejected in 2021 but 3 years since his arrest, the trial is yet to commence and amount to pre-trial detention. Also, it was submitted that the greatest punishment he faces is 7 years and almost half the term is concluded without a trial.
Therefore, in several cases bail has been granted to accused in case of long incarceration but the gravity of accusations in the current case can’t be brushed aside.
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