HC quashes temporary bail granted to ex-official of IL&FS

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday

quashed and set aside a sessions court order granting temporary bail amid the COVID-19 pandemic to Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) former vice chairman Hari Sankaran, who was arrested in a fraud case.

Justice C V Bhadang was hearing an application filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), challenging a sessions court's order of April 28 granting Sankaran temporary bail for 75 days.

Sankaran was arrested in April last year by SFIO under the Companies Act for allegedly committing fraud.

According to SFIO, Sankaran and other senior executives of IL&FS had formed a coterie which allegedly committed fraud that resulted in wrongful loss to the company.

 

In his plea before the sessions court, Sankaran had sought bail on the ground that he was a senior citizen and hence, more at risk of contracting COVID-19.

He also said in his plea that the high court last month quashed the criminal proceedings initiated against him and other auditors of IL&FS.

SFIO advocate Hiten Venegavkar argued that the high court last month quashed the criminal proceedings, but stayed its order for a period of eight weeks, and the SFIO was going to appeal against the order in the Supreme Court.

Justice Bhadang then quashed the sessions court's order granting temporary bail to Sankaran.

The judge directed the lower court to hear and pass its final order on Sankarans bail plea within a period of six weeks.

Besides, another bench of the high court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea of IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd's former managing director Ramchand Karunakaran, who was arrested in June 2019 by the Enforcement Directorate on charges of money laundering.

He had sought bail on medical grounds, saying he was at the risk of getting infected by coronavirus in jail.

Justice Bharati Dangre on Tuesday perused the medical report submitted by authorities of the Taloja jail in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, where Karunakaran is lodged.

Noting that the accused does not suffer from any medical ailments and there are no coronavirus positive cases in the jail at present, the judge rejected his bail plea.