LI Network
Published on: 5 August 2023 at 00:10 IST
The Supreme Court, rejected the interim bail plea of Yes Bank Founder, Rana Kapoor, in connection with a ₹600 crore money laundering case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The Bench, comprising of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti, advised Kapoor to file a fresh bail application after serving half of his normal sentence as an undertrial.
The bail application before the top court was in relation to a case involving ₹600 crore money laundering, with Kapil Wadhawan, the director of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL), being a co-accused. Kapoor’s appeal to the Supreme Court came after the Bombay High Court rejected his previous petition in May.
The High Court had highlighted that the proceeds of crime involved in the case amounted to ₹5,333 crore. Kapoor’s first bail application was also denied by the High Court in February 2021, as the court viewed the substantial loss of public funds due to the alleged criminal activities of companies linked to Kapoor very seriously.
During the Supreme Court hearing, Senior Counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kapoor, stressed the importance of personal liberty in this case, given Kapoor’s prolonged incarceration since March 2020.
Justice Khanna, however, pointed out Kapoor’s impact on the entire financial system and the difficulties faced by Yes Bank.
The Bench urged the Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the ED, to expedite the trial process, emphasizing the need for priority in extraordinary cases.
The court expressed concern over delays and the potential for prolonged trials, cautioning that if bail is granted, the trial might not conclude for at least ten years.
Ultimately, Kapoor withdrew the plea with the liberty to file an application under Section 436A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Rana Kapoor was arrested on March 8, 2020, in connection with the ₹600 crore money laundering case initiated by the ED.
The allegations included criminal conspiracies with Kapil Wadhawan to gain undue benefits through companies owned by Kapoor’s family members.
Yes Bank had purportedly invested ₹3,700 crore in short-term debentures of DHFL in 2018, and Kapoor allegedly received kickbacks of ₹600 crore by extending a loan to DOIT Urban Ventures (India), a company wholly owned by his wife and daughters.