New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant bail to YES Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor in a money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate.
“Normally, we consider (for grant of bail) the period already undergone (in custody), but here he (Kapoor) rocked the entire financial system. Did not YES Bank go into difficulty?” queried a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S.V.N. Bhatti to senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the former CEO of YES Bank.
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“He (Kapoor) has been behind bars since 8th March 2020,” told Singhvi, while urging the top court for expeditious disposal of the case. In view of the bench’s disinclination to entertain the bail plea, Singhvi sought permission of the court for withdrawal of the special leave petition (SLP).
The Supreme Court granted liberty to Kapoor to avail remedies under Section 436-A CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) which provides release of an under-trial prisoner, who has been detained for a period up to one-half of the maximum imprisonment provided for the alleged crime. The Bombay High Court had in January 2021 rejected the first bail application filed by Kapoor and also rejected the subsequent bail application on May 4 this year.
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In the FIR, it was alleged that during 2018-2019, Rana Kapoor entered into a criminal conspiracy with Kapil Wadhwan and others for extending financial assistance to DHFL.
During April-June in 2018, YES Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short term debentures of DHFL. Around the same time, Kapil Wadhwan paid a kick back of Rs 600 crore to Kapoor and his family members.
The ED alleged that Kapoor misused his position as MD of YES Bank to gain financial benefits for himself and family members, through companies controlled by Kapil Wadhwan and others for sanctioning huge loans through YES Bank. He received kick-back over bogus loans extended by YES Bank to DHFL company, which was owned by Kapil Wadhwan and Dheeraj Wadhwan and to its Group companies and those kick back amounts were misused by Kapoor for purchasing properties in the name of his family members.
