HDIL promoter Wadhawan’s bail plea rejected in Rs 6,000 crore money laundering case

A special court Wednesday rejected bail to HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan in connection with the over Rs 6,000 crore money laundering case linked with Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank.The two were arrested in 2019 and had sought bail citing provisions of section 436A of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Under this section, a person can be considered for release from custody if he or she has spent more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence. The two had sought bail stating that they face a maximum of seven years in jail and have spent more than half of that — over three years and five months— in judicial custody.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) submitted that their investigation in the case is still ongoing.

Special Judge M G Deshpande said that the allegations against them pertain to misappropriation and laundering of public money linked to PMC Bank. The court said that relief under section 436A CrPc is not an absolute right and the court may still deny the relief owing to the ground, such as where the trial was delayed at the instance of accused himself.The case that was first registered at Bhandup police station was transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police. The bank’s managing director Joy Thomas, its chairman Waryam Singh, HDIL directors Sarang Wadhawan and his father Rakesh Wadhawan are among the accused. The accused are booked for cheating, criminal conspiracy, forgery and under provisions of the MPID Act among other offences. The police allege that during 2008 and 2019, HDIL borrowed from the bank to the tune of Rs4,335 crore and did not repay the amount. The accused intentionally reported false information and records to the RBI and suppressed the actual position of the dues, to the detriment of the bank and its depositors.