Mumbai: A special court on Tuesday denied bail by default sought by Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan as the Enforcement Directorate, they claimed, had not filed the charge sheet against them within 60 days of their arrest.
The duo was arrested on May 14 in connection with the Yes Bank fraud and filed their default bail pleas on Monday, the day they claimed was the 61st day post their arrest and the ED had not filed the charge sheet against them within the stipulated period of 60 days after the arrest. The ED, however, filed the charge sheet against them in the Yes Bank case on the same day.
Appearing for the Wadhawans on Tuesday, Adv Subodh Desai argued that the day of their arrest, that is May 14, should be included in the number of days they have been in custody, which makes them eligible for default bail, as the ED filed the charge sheet on the 61st day.
The ED opposed this argument for default bail. Adv Hiten Venegaonkar and Adv Sunil Gonsalves appearing for the central agency argued that May 14 - the date of arrest – does not count in the period spent in custody, hence that the agency has filed the charge sheet within the stipulated 60 days time, making them ineligible for bail by default.
Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan are accused in the Yes bank scam where the bank is alleged to have made Rs.3,700 crore of investments in DHFL, in return for kickbacks of Rs 600 crore to its founder and ex-MD and CEO Rana Kapoor through a firm linked to his family.
