Will Move Application In Bombay High Court To Vacate Interim Bail Of Chanda Kohcchar & Husband : CBI Tells Supreme Court
The Central Bureau of Investigation informed the Supreme Court on Friday (December 8) that they will be moving an application before the Bombay High Court to vacate the interim bail granted to granted to former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband, Deepak Kochhar, in the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan fraud case.The response of the CBI agency came when the Court asked why the agency...
The Central Bureau of Investigation informed the Supreme Court on Friday (December 8) that they will be moving an application before the Bombay High Court to vacate the interim bail granted to granted to former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband, Deepak Kochhar, in the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan fraud case.
The response of the CBI agency came when the Court asked why the agency was not objecting to the continuation of the interim bail granted by the High Court in January this year.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing the central agency's special leave petition against an order passed by the Bombay High Court in January this year directing the release of Kochhar and her husband. They were arrested in December of last year by the CBI in connection with the alleged irregularities in several high-value loans sanctioned to the Videocon group-owned firms, but subsequently released for two weeks on the court's order. The top court issued notice in CBI's plea in October this year.
During a previous hearing, the court questioned whether the CBI's plea against the high court's January order granting two weeks' bail has become infructuous now, since the interim bail was to operate only for a period of two weeks. After Additional Solicitor-General SV Raju pointed out that bail had been continuing since January despite the period prescribed, the asked why the CBI had not moved an application in the high court for the Kochhars to be remanded to custody after the expiry of the bail period, instead of filing a special leave petition in the Supreme Court. In response, the law officer assured that he would ask his counterpart in the high court to file an appropriate application.
Today, although the bench agreed to defer the hearing until Monday after a request for adjournment was made on behalf of Kochhars' counsel, Justice Trivedi asked ASG Raju, "What happened in the high court? Is interim bail still continuing?"
"The matter is still pending in the high court. Interim bail is continuing," ASG Raju replied.
The judge shot back, "Why are you not objecting?"
"We are objecting. I had told my counterpart to move an application for vacation of the interim order as well," the law officer informed the bench, before adding that the temporary relief was also erroneously granted inasmuch as Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure would not apply. The high court, while directing the Kochhars' release, had observed that their arrest was not in accordance with Sections 41A and 41(1)(b)(ii) of the criminal code.
The Supreme Court is set to continue hearing the arguments on Monday, December 11.
Background
Chanda Kochhar, who began her career at the ICICI Bank as a trainee officer in 1984 and rose through the ranks, served as the managing director and chief executive officer of the bank from May 1, 2009, until October 2018. Her last appointment's term was set to end on March 31, 2019. However, in May 2018, the ICICI Bank initiated a private inquiry against Kochhar following a whistle-blower's complaint, leading to her taking leave. However, as per the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the managing director of a bank is entitled to no more than four months of leave, prompting Kochhar to apply for early retirement in October 2018, an application that was accepted by the bank. Subsequently, the bank reclassified her early retirement as a termination in early 2019 after the inquiry found violations related to disclosure norms about conflicts of interest. These issues primarily revolved around loans granted to the Videocon Group and its connection to her husband, Deepak Kochhar. The bank treated her October 2018 exit as a dismissal rather than a regular resignation, prompting her to file a lawsuit against the bank. A special leave petition against a Bombay High Court order refusing her interim relief is also pending before the Supreme Court.
Since 2018, the Central Bureau of Investigation has also been probing the allegations of financial irregularities against Kochhar and her husband in connection with the grant by the ICICI Bank of six high-value loans worth around Rs 1,575 crores to firms owned by Venugopal Dhoot's Videocon Group between June 2009 and October 2011. The central agency has alleged that these loans were granted in contravention of the rules and policies of the sanctioning committee and were later termed as non-performing assets, resulting in wrongful loss to the bank and wrongful gain to the accused.
The investigation resulted in a first information report (FIR) in 2019, and the couple was booked under Sections 120B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Sections 7 and 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. In December of last year, the former ICICI Bank CEO and her husband were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The arrests were challenged in separate petitions filed by the husband-wife duo seeking the quashing of the central agency's FIR and the remand orders. By way of interim relief, the Kochhars also sought to be released on bail.
In January, the Bombay High Court issued an interim order directing their release, holding that the arrest was not in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code. The bench led by Justice Revati Mohite Dere also rejected the reasons provided by the CBI for the arrest, including allegations of non-cooperation and non-disclosure of facts. It observed that the grounds for arrest were contrary to the legal provisions governing arrests. The bench emphasised the importance of Article 20(3) as a safeguard in criminal cases and stated that the mere absence of a confession does not imply non-cooperation with the investigation. The court also noted that the Kochhars had cooperated with the investigation by responding to the agency's summonses and providing documents. Furthermore, the bench observed that there had been no communication from the Central Bureau of Investigation for nearly four years, from 2019 to June 2022, during which no summons had been issued to the petitioners.
The Bombay High Court's order granting bail has now been challenged by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a special leave petition.
Case Details
Central Bureau of Investigation v. Chanda Kochhar | Diary No. 13670 of 2023