Mumbai: Special CBI court rejects former Yes Bank MD and CEO Rana Kapoor's plea in Avantha fraud case

A special CBI court has rejected the application of former Yes Bank MD and CEO Rana Kapoor in the Avantha fraud case in which he contended that the sanction to prosecute him under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) was invalid and hence proceedings against him in the court cannot be continued.

The court said in its order that the grounds raised by Kapoor can be decided during trial while rejecting his application.

Kapoor had contended that the CBI had not got sanction from the RBI, that he claimed was the competent authority to grant sanction to prosecute him. The sanction was granted in his case by the Board of Directors of Yes Bank. The court had taken cognizance of the CBI’s chargesheet on the basis of this invalid sanction, he claimed.

The CBI had opposed the plea and told the court that the sanction granted by the bank’s board of directors was valid and legal. It responded that since it is the board that decides on appointment of MD and CEO of a bank and such a person functions under the board’s control, it has the authority to decide on removal. It said that the board is the competent authority to grant sanction.