Court denies home food to Kochhars, Dhoot in jail

A court has denied the facility of home food to ICICI Bank’s former MD-CEO Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot, who are in custody in a loan fraud case involving the bank and Videocon. The bank is said to have suffered a loss of Rs1,730 crore in the alleged fraud. The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court also rejected the application made by Mr Dhoot in which he had sought interim release on bail claiming that his arrest is illegal. The detailed order is yet to be made available. 

While rejecting the reliefs of home food for the three, Special CBI Judge MR Purwar directed the jail superintendent to provide medical diet to them as per rules, in consultation with the prison’s medical officer. All three had given medical reasons that necessitated it.

Mr Dhoot had supported the plea with documents from different private hospitals and an opinion from a renowned heart specialist. He said he is 73 years old and has a complex cardiac condition and continues to have chest pain and breathing difficulty. His advocate further told the court that his sugar levels are generally very high despite insulin and a controlled diet, and his health will further suffer if he takes jail food. On Chanda Kochhar’s behalf, her advocate told the court that she is 61, has high cholesterol and hence needs a controlled diet.