The Bombay High Court has confirmed the order passed by a division bench granting interim bail to former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in a loan fraud case against their illegal arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last year. As an interim measure, HC had granted Kochhar an interim bail on the ground that prima facie there was a case for illegal arrest.
The bench of Justices Anuja Prabhudessai and NR Borkar on Tuesday said, "We have confirmed interim bail order."
Kochhar's lawyer Amit Desai had argued that non-cooperation cannot be a ground for arrest. In her case, when she was arrested by CBI, no women officer was present which is mandatory under law. Being a lady she could not have been called to CBI office for interrogation, Desai had argued.
Advocate Kuldeep Patil, appearing for the CBI, had submitted that there had been utter non-cooperation from Kochhar's side and she was needed to be confronted with Videocon chief Venugooal Dhoot who too was arrested in the case after her.
The couple was arrested by the CBI on December 23, 2022 in connection with the Videocon-ICICI Bank loan case. Apart from the Kochhars, the CBI also arrested Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot in the case.
The CBI has alleged that private sector lender ICICI Bank had sanctioned a credit of Rs 3,250 crore to the Videocon Group companies promoted by Dhoot in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines, and the credit policy of the bank.
The CBI had named Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar and Dhoot along with Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Ltd as accused in the FIR registered in 2019 under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
It also alleged that as part of a quid pro quo, Dhoot made an investment of Rs 64 crore in Nupower Renewables through Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL), and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar through a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012.