The Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the default bail granted to former DHFL directors Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhwan in connection with the Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) loan fraud case amounting to Rs 34,615 crore.
A bench presided over by Justice Bela M. Trivedi stated, “The respondents-accused could not have claimed statutory rights of default bail under Section 167(2) of Criminal Procedure Code(Cr.P.C) on the ground that investigation for other accused was pending.”
The court emphasized that if the Wadhwan brothers were released based on the previous orders granting default bail, they would be taken into custody.
The decision, made in response to an appeal filed by the CBI, highlighted serious legal errors committed by both the Special Court and the Delhi High Court.
In May 2023, the Delhi High Court had upheld the order passed by the Special Judge of Rouse Avenue, granting default bail to the accused under Section 167(2) Cr.P.C. The Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) had earlier, in December 2022, granted statutory bail to the Wadhwan brothers, stating that the charge sheet, although filed within the stipulated time, was incomplete, entitling the Wadhwan brothers to mandatory bail as per the law.
The FIR against DHFL, its former CMD Kapil Wadhawan, MD Dheeraj Wadhawan, and others, including public servants, was filed under sections 120-B, 409, 420, 477-A of the IPC and Section 13(2) read with sections 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The allegations include inducing a consortium of 17 banks, led by Union Bank of India, to sanction loans amounting to Rs 42,871.42 crore. The accused are accused of siphoning off and misappropriating a significant portion of the funds, causing a wrongful loss of Rs 34,615 crore to the consortium lenders by falsifying DHFL's books and defaulting on repayment.
(With Agency Inputs)
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