PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi has withdrawn the petition against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that challenged the proceedings initiated by the agency to declare him a fugitive economic offender. The Bombay High Court, in June, had directed Choksi to submit his latest medical reports with a letter from his doctors to the JJ Hospital in Mumbai after he claimed that he was unable to travel to India due to ill health. The accused said that his doctor in Antigua had refused to treat him "due to some reason".
The high court had said that the doctors at JJ Hospital would go through Choksi's medical reports and ascertain if he was medically fit to return.
However, when it was time for hearing on this petition on Monday, Choksi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal told the division bench headed by Justice IA Mahanty that they could not submit the medical report. "The doctor who was treating Choksi has refused to treat him due to some reason which we are submitting in a sealed report," Aggarwal said.
ED advocate Hiten Venegaonkar then requested the high court to dismiss Choksi's plea against the agency. "The prosecution's plea seeking for Choksi to be declared as a fugitive economic offender is getting delayed because of these petitions filed in the high court," said Venegaonkar.
The court said that if Choksi cannot give the documents then he must withdraw this petition. Aggarwal agreed and withdrew the petition.
The ED, which moved a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here to declare Choksi a fugitive economic offender, has accused the diamantaire of fleeing the country to avoid arrest.
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi, who is currently in a London jail, are wanted by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation for allegedly defrauding the Punjab National Bank (PNB) to the tune of Rs 13,400 crore.
(With PTI inputs)
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