Wadhawan brothers secure bail; Bombay HC cites long incarceration, distant trial

The Bombay High Court granted bail to DHFL promoters Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan in connection with the 2020 Yes Bank money laundering case citing their long incarceration and the unlikelihood of the trial starting soon reported news agency PTIA single bench of Justice Milind Jadhav on Wednesday granted bail to the brothers on a bond of Rs 1 lakh each reported PTIThe bench said the Dewan Housing Finance Limited DHFL promoters have been in custody for four years and nine months and there was no possibility of the trial commencing in the near futureDetaining an undertrial prisoner for such an extended period further violates his fundamental right to speedy trial flowing from Article 21 of the Constitution Bombay HC said reported PTIIn my opinion further incarceration of the applicants Wadhawans is not required and they are entitled to bail without entering into the merits of the case at this stage the court said reported PTIConsidering the present status of the trial and the unlikelihood of it being concluded in the foreseeable future coupled with the pretrial incarceration the accused persons are granted bail Bombay HC orderedThe bench said the brothers have been booked for offences that attract a maximum punishment of seven yearsThe Wadhawans have been in custody in the present case since May 2020 That is for almost four years and nine months which is beyond half of the maximum period of imprisonment which can be imposed upon conviction the HC saidThe court also went through the orders passed by the special court that would be conducting the trial in the case It said the delay in the proceedings cannot be solely attributed to the applicants when admittedly even the charges in the case have not been framed despite the Enforcement Directorate ED having submitted the draft charges in May 2023 itselfDheeraj Wadhawan and Kapil Wadhawan had sought bail in the money laundering case registered against them in March 2020 by the ED They have been in jail since May 2020 reported PTIThe duo sought relief on the grounds of long incarceration and that they have already undergone more than half of the maximum sentence they face under the charges pressed against themTheir counsel Amit Desai had argued that the maximum sentence that the Wadhawans face is seven years and they have already undergone pretrial incarceration of over four years reported PTIDesai had further submitted that the EDs probe in the money laundering case is still pending and there was no intimation as to when the investigation would be completed and trial would beginThe duo submitted that they had a fundamental right to speedy justice and libertyThe case relates to kickbacks for an alleged loan scam worth Rs 4000 crore involving Yes Banks founder Rana Kapoor and DHFLs WadhawansThe ED had launched a money laundering probe after the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI registered a case of criminal conspiracy and corruption against the Wadhawans Kapoor and several othersWith inputs from PTI