A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Monday rejected the interim bail plea of fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi’s company Firestar Group’s senior executive Arjun Patil stating that being accused of a multi-crore fraud, that too of more than Rs. 6,000 crores, he is not entitled for release.
This plea for temporary release had been filed on grounds of the High Power Committee’s (HPC) guidelines for release of prisoners for decongestion of jails.
His advocate had argued that Patil had tested positive for COVID-19 on 30 April and had to be admitted in GT hospital. He told the court that the 46-year-old had lost tremendous weight, is suffering from weakness and unable to take care of himself. His chances of recovering are very low, his advocate said, as the jail authorities are not taking proper care of inmates and conditions in jail are unhygienic.
Special CBI judge SU Wadgaonkar said in his detailed order made available on Tuesday, that exceptions are made in the HPC guidelines for categories of offences such as bank frauds and major financial scams. It said at another part of the order that in the present case the bank fraud is of multiple crores, that too, more than Rs. 6,000 crores.
Further the court said with regard to the submission that jail authorities are not taking proper care of inmates, that the submission of Patil itself indicates that he is being treated in GT hospital, which is a renowned hospital run by the state government.
Patil had cited the case of Bhima-Koregaon accused poet Varavara Rao who has been granted interim bail by the Bombay HC though he has been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The court said about this, that the HC has observed that courts can use their writ jurisdiction to direct release of prisoners based on their health condition. Further it differentiated that Rao is 82 years old and has other health ailments.
