New Delhi [India], March 27 : The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed an appeal of the Enforcement Directorate challenging the Bombay High Court order granting bail to former Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan in a Yes Bank money laundering case being probed by the agency.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph, Hrishikesh Roy and BV Nagarathna dismissed the plea of ED and said that the 60 or 90-day duration for the grant of default bail in a criminal case will include the remand period.
The bench in its order said that the remand period will be calculated from the date Magistrate remanded the accused.
The top court in September 2020 had stayed a Bombay High Court order granting bail to the promoters. On August 20, 2020, the High Court granted bail to the Wadhawan brothers stating that mandatory default bail is the sequel to the non-filing of the charge sheet.
The High Court while grating bail had held that the ED failed to file its charge sheet in the case within the stipulated 60-day period. Challenging the High Court order, the probe agency approached the apex court.
Wadhawans are accused of money laundering in the multi-crore Yes Bank fraud case.
ED had arrested Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj Wadhawan under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). CBI had also registered FIR against them.
According to the CBI FIR, the scam started taking shape between April and June 2018, when Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the DHFL.
In return, the Wadhawans allegedly paid a kickback of Rs 600 crore to Kapoor and his family members in the form of loans to DOIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd held by the latter's wife and daughters, the CBI has claimed.
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