The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in the Videocon loan fraud case. The court noted that the arrest has not been made as per the provisions of the law.
Kochhar was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on December 23, 2022, in the Videocon-ICICI Bank loan case. He is currently in judicial custody.
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and PK Chavan directed Kochhar to deposit a cash surety of Rs one lakh each with one or more sureties of the like amount. The bench said that both will cooperate in the investigation and attend the CBI office on receipt of summons.
“We are of the view that the arrest of the petitioners (Kochhars) was not in accordance with the provisions of law and warrants their release,” the high court said. The court also asked the Kochhar family to surrender their passports to the CBI.
The court also asked the Kochhar family to surrender their passports to the CBI. The order was passed on petitions by Chanda Kochhar and her husband challenging their arrest by the CBI in a bank loan case. Both said in their arguments that the CBI’s arrest was arbitrary and illegal.
The CBI has named Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar as well as Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot as well as NuPower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Ltd in an FIR registered in 2019 under the Indian I was made accused. Sections of the Penal Code and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to criminal conspiracy.
The central agency has alleged that private sector lender ICICI Bank sanctioned credit facilities worth Rs 3,250 crore to these companies in violation of norms. It further alleged that in retaliation, Dhoot invested Rs 64 crore in Nupower Renewables through Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL) and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar in tortuous ways between 2010 and 2010. transferred from 2012.
(With inputs from PTI)
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