Mumbai: A special court here on Thursday granted bail to Yes Bank cofounder Rana Kapoor in a money-laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities at the bank. He, however, would not walk out of jail at present as he has not been granted bail in a related case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Kapoor, 65, former MD and CEO of the private bank, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in March 2020. Special judge for PMLA court M G Deshpande granted Kapoor bail on Thursday.
The trial in the case cannot begin and conclude in view of the expectations and guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court (in a different case), therefore he was entitled to relief under section 436-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure and deserves to be released on bail, the judge said. As per the section 436A, an under-trial prisoner has the right to seek bail on serving more than half of the maximum possible sentence prescribed for the offence he or she is accused of.
Kapoor, on his part, never initiated any proceeding to protract the trial nor did he restrict the ED's proceedings before this court. The ED too did not contend that bail applications filed by Kapoor are causing delay in the investigation, the court said. In the bail application filed through advocates Rahul Agarwal and Jasmine Purani, Kapoor said he was in prison for more than three-and-half years, half the period of maximum sentence prescribed for the offence under the PMLA.
Considering the status of the case, there was no likelihood that the trial will begin soon, he said. The ED, on the other hand, contended that Kapoor was one of the main accused persons who misused his position to gain undue financial benefits of Rs 5,050 crore for himself, his family members and associates by involving himself in bribery, corruption and money laundering.
Kapoor received several hundred crores of rupees in kickbacks over bogus loans extended by Yes Bank to DHFL and its group companies owned by Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan (both co-accused in the case), the probe agency has alleged.
