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Loan fraud case: Bombay high court asks CBI to reply on Kochhars’ interim release plea by Friday
On Tuesday, the couple informed the court that the first function of their son’s wedding is scheduled for Saturday (January 7) and sought interim release
Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file its response to the petition filed by former ICICI Bank chief executive officer and MD Chanda Kochhar and her businessman-husband Deepak Kochhar, challenging their arrest in an alleged loan fraud case.
A division bench of justices Revati Mohite Dere and PK Chavan gave CBI, which arrested Chanda and Deepak Kochar on December 23, till Friday to file its response.
In their petition, the Kochhars have sought to quash their remand order, calling their arrest “illegal”. Seeking their release from the jail, they have also submitted that their only son is getting married on January 15.
On Tuesday, the couple informed the court that the first function of their son’s wedding is scheduled for Saturday (January 7) and sought interim release.
Terming the arrest of his client “illegal”, Deepak Kochhar’s lawyer Vikram Chaudhary submitted that the businessman was called to record his statement in the case, but was instead arrested.
Chanda Kochhar’s lawyer Amit Desai told the court that the prosecution in a case against her under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had made a statement that her arrest was not required. But CBI arrested her citing non-cooperation in the investigation of the loan fraud case, said Desai.
The lawyers added that the couple’s arrests were in violation of Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) as the investigating officer did not issue a notice of appearance before taking them in custody. They sought the couple’s interim release on account of their son’s upcoming wedding.
The bench, however, said CBI needs to be given time to file its response to the plea, and adjourned the matter till Friday.
The federal agency has booked the Kochhars, Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot, along with several companies, for criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act in its first information report (FIR) registered in 2019.
The agency has alleged that in 2009, the ICICI Bank had sanctioned credit of ₹3,250 crore to Videocon Group companies in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, RBI guidelines, and the private lender’s credit policy. At the time, Chanda Kochhar headed the bank.
The day after the loan was disbursed, Dhoot transferred ₹64 crore to Nupower Renewables (NRL), managed by Deepak Kochhar from Videocon International Electronics Ltd. (VIEL) through Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL), CBI has alleged.
