SC grants 3 months interim bail to HDIL promoter Rakesh Wadhawan

New Delhi, Nov 9 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday granted interim bail of three months to Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) promoter Rakesh Wadhawan, embroiled in a Rs 4,300-crore Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank scam case, on medical grounds.
     A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi took note of the medical condition of Wadhawan while granting him bail.
     "On going through the medical reports and having regard to his health condition reflected, we are of the view that the petitioner may be released on interim bail on medical grounds. He shall be permitted to remain at his residential house under police custody at his own cost. The number of policemen required to guard him shall be decided by the state government and the state shall raise bill on him on weekly basis," the bench said.
     The top court also directed that Wadhawan, if required, be taken to JJ Hospital Mumbai for treatment.
     In the event, the treatment is not available there, then he may be taken to a private hospital, the top court said.
     Wadhawan has moved the top court against the October 26 order of the Bombay High Court refusing him bail on medical grounds.
     The order came after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for 71-year-old Wadhawan, submitted that his client has been in jail for four years and was suffering from various ailments.
     He placed on record the medical report of Wadhawan citing his health condition.
     Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan were booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in October 2020 in connection with a Rs 200-crore alleged loan fraud from Yes Bank and have been facing investigation by multiple agencies.
     They are also being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of another Prevention of Money Laundering Act case related to an alleged loan fraud at the PMC Bank involving an amount of more than Rs 4,300 crore.
     The officials had said the firm had allegedly entered into a Rs 3,167-crore development contract with the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) for the development of 40 acres of land in Mumbai's Goregaon (West) in five phases.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)