SC to listen to CBI’s plea towards interim bail to former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, husband in mortgage fraud case

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to listen to the CBI’s plea towards grant of interim bail to former ICICI Bank CEO-cum-MD Chanda Kochhar and her businessman husband Deepak Kochhar by the Bombay High Court in a mortgage fraud case.

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi issued discover to Chanda Kochhar and her husband on the probe company’s petition and sought their responses in three weeks.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, showing for the CBI, stated the excessive court docket proceeded on a improper presumption that the offence is punishable with a most of seven years imprisonment with out contemplating part 409 of the IPC (felony breach of belief by public servant) which entails sentence starting from 10 years to life imprisonment.

The bench requested Raju how part 409 of the IPC got here into play when ICICI was a personal financial institution. Raju replied that the financial institution could also be non-public however it entails public cash. The bench stated it’s issuing discover to the couple and in search of their replies in three weeks.

The CBI has challenged the January 9 order of the excessive court docket granting interim reduction to the Kochhars.

The prime court docket had on October 10 questioned the CBI over not objecting to the repeated extension of the two-week interim bail granted to them in January this 12 months.

The excessive court docket had pulled up the CBI for arresting the couple in a “casual and mechanical” method and “clearly without application of mind” within the mortgage fraud case and granted them interim bail.

The CBI arrested the Kochhars on December 23, 2022, in reference to the Videocon-ICICI Bank mortgage fraud case. The couple had moved the HC difficult their arrest, terming it as “illegal and arbitrary”. They had sought their launch from jail on bail by means of an interim order.

The excessive court docket had stated the Kochhars’ arrest was not in accordance with the provisions of legislation and so they had been entitled to be launched on bail, pending the listening to and remaining disposal of their petitions.

The grounds for arresting the petitioners (Kochhars), as acknowledged within the arrest memos, are unacceptable and opposite to the rationale(s)/ floor(s) on which an individual may be arrested, it had stated.

ALSO READ  | SC questions CBI over not objecting to repeated extension of interim bail to Chanda Kochhar, husband

Apart from the Kochhars, the CBI additionally arrested Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot within the case.

The central company has alleged the ICICI Bank sanctioned credit score amenities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to the businesses of the Videocon group in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, Reserve Bank of India’s pointers and credit score coverage of the highest non-public lender.

The CBI had named Chanda Kochhar, who was ICICI Bank CEO and MD from 2009 to 2018, Deepak Kochhar, Dhoot together with a slew of companies – Nupower Renewables (NRL), Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries – as accused within the FIR registered beneath Indian Penal Code sections associated to felony conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Nupower Renewables is managed by Deepak Kochhar.

The central company has alleged as quid professional quo (favour or benefit granted in return for one thing), Videocon group founder Dhoot made an funding of Rs 64 crore in Nupower Renewables by way of Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL) and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar by way of a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012.

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to listen to the CBI’s plea towards grant of interim bail to former ICICI Bank CEO-cum-MD Chanda Kochhar and her businessman husband Deepak Kochhar by the Bombay High Court in a mortgage fraud case.

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi issued discover to Chanda Kochhar and her husband on the probe company’s petition and sought their responses in three weeks.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, showing for the CBI, stated the excessive court docket proceeded on a improper presumption that the offence is punishable with a most of seven years imprisonment with out contemplating part 409 of the IPC (felony breach of belief by public servant) which entails sentence starting from 10 years to life imprisonment.googletag.cmd.push(operate() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); );

The bench requested Raju how part 409 of the IPC got here into play when ICICI was a personal financial institution. Raju replied that the financial institution could also be non-public however it entails public cash. The bench stated it’s issuing discover to the couple and in search of their replies in three weeks.

The CBI has challenged the January 9 order of the excessive court docket granting interim reduction to the Kochhars.

The prime court docket had on October 10 questioned the CBI over not objecting to the repeated extension of the two-week interim bail granted to them in January this 12 months.

The excessive court docket had pulled up the CBI for arresting the couple in a “casual and mechanical” method and “clearly without application of mind” within the mortgage fraud case and granted them interim bail.

The CBI arrested the Kochhars on December 23, 2022, in reference to the Videocon-ICICI Bank mortgage fraud case. The couple had moved the HC difficult their arrest, terming it as “illegal and arbitrary”. They had sought their launch from jail on bail by means of an interim order.

The excessive court docket had stated the Kochhars’ arrest was not in accordance with the provisions of legislation and so they had been entitled to be launched on bail, pending the listening to and remaining disposal of their petitions.

The grounds for arresting the petitioners (Kochhars), as acknowledged within the arrest memos, are unacceptable and opposite to the rationale(s)/ floor(s) on which an individual may be arrested, it had stated.

ALSO READ  | SC questions CBI over not objecting to repeated extension of interim bail to Chanda Kochhar, husband

Apart from the Kochhars, the CBI additionally arrested Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot within the case.

The central company has alleged the ICICI Bank sanctioned credit score amenities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to the businesses of the Videocon group in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, Reserve Bank of India’s pointers and credit score coverage of the highest non-public lender.

The CBI had named Chanda Kochhar, who was ICICI Bank CEO and MD from 2009 to 2018, Deepak Kochhar, Dhoot together with a slew of companies – Nupower Renewables (NRL), Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries – as accused within the FIR registered beneath Indian Penal Code sections associated to felony conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Nupower Renewables is managed by Deepak Kochhar.

The central company has alleged as quid professional quo (favour or benefit granted in return for one thing), Videocon group founder Dhoot made an funding of Rs 64 crore in Nupower Renewables by way of Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL) and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar by way of a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp