In a development that exposed chinks in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) machinery, the Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Deewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) group’s promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, accused in a money laundering in the Yes Bank fraud case, after the ED failed to file a charge-sheet against them within the stipulated 60-day period.
After taking cognisance of the ED’s failure to file a charge-sheet against the two accused within the stipulated 60 days, Justice Bharati Dangre noted that there was a period prescribed in law for filing of the charge sheet, and an accused could not be kept in custody even for a day after the stipulated time and they have the right to default bail
While granting “default” fail to Wadhawan brothers, the Judge directed the two accused to surrender their passports and deposit Rs.100,000 each as surety.
The Wadhawan brothers had sought bail claiming the ED failed to file its charge sheet within the stipulated period of 60 days.
An accused can seek default bail if the investigating agency fails to file a charge sheet against him or her in the case within the period prescribed under section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC)
The two brothers will, however, remain in jail as they have also been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the same case.
It may be recalled that on April 9, Kapil, Dheeraj and 21 members of their family were detained by the police at Panchgani on the night of April 9 while travelling in five cars from Khandala to another hill station of Mahabaleswar in Satara district in western Maharashtra. The Wadhawan brothers were placed under arrest subsequently.
The Wadhawan brothers are being investigated by both the ED and CBI in the multi-crore DHFL fraud case. While the CBI is investigating the two brothers for alleged cheating and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the ED is looking into money laundering allegedly indulged in by them in the Yes Bank fraud case.
The ED had filed its chargesheet on July 15 against the Wadhawans, Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, his wife Bindu Kapoor, daughters Roshni and Rekha, and their chartered accountant firm Dularesh K Jain and Associate.