By The Supreme Court made a significant decision on Wednesday, revoking the bail granted to former DHFL promoters Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj in connection with a multi-crore rupees bank loan scam case. Justices Bela M Trivedi and S C Sharma, comprising the bench, stated that both the high court and the trial court erred in granting bail to the accused.
Court’s Ruling
The bench emphasized that the respondents could not claim statutory bail as a right, considering that the charge sheet had been filed and cognisance had been taken within the stipulated time. According to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), an accused is eligible for statutory bail if the investigating agency fails to file the charge sheet within 60 or 90 days after concluding the investigation.
Case Background
In this particular case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed the charge sheet on the 88th day after registering the FIR. Subsequently, the trial court granted default bail to the accused, a decision upheld by the Delhi High Court. The Wadhawan brothers were taken into custody on July 19 the previous year, and although the high court clarified that it did not delve into the merits of the case, the charge sheet was filed on October 15, 2022, and cognisance was duly taken.
The genesis of the case lies in a complaint filed by the Union Bank of India, leading to the initiation of the FIR.
