Recently, the Supreme Court of India has granted three months bail to the Housing Development Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) promoter Rakesh Wadhawan, accused in the Rs 4,300 crore scam of Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank.

A division bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi said, looking at the health report of 71-year-old Wadhawan, his poor health is evident.

"On going through the medical reports and having regard to his health condition reflected, we are of the view that the petitioner may be released on interim bail on medical grounds. He shall be permitted to remain at his residential house under police custody at his own cost. The number of policemen required to guard him shall be decided by the state government and the state shall raise bill on him on weekly basis," the bench said. Therefore, the petitioner is being granted interim bail on medical grounds. He is being allowed to remain in police custody at his own residence at his own expense. The state government will decide how much police force will be deployed to monitor Wadhawan.

The state government will have to recover the entire expense of police deployment from Wadhawan itself every week. The court also told Wadhawan that if necessary, he should be taken to JJ Hospital in Mumbai. If they cannot be treated there then they should be taken to a private hospital.

"In the event, the treatment is not available there, then he may be taken to a private hospital," the top court said. 

Case Brief -

Wadhawan has appealed to the Supreme Court to challenge the Bombay High Court's October 26 ruling, which denied him bail on medical grounds. This decision followed a plea from senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing 71-year-old Wadhawan, who argued that his client had been incarcerated for four years and was dealing with various health issues.

Rohatgi presented Wadhawan's medical report as evidence of his health condition. Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan face allegations from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) since October 2020, related to a purported Rs 200-crore loan fraud involving Yes Bank.

Furthermore, they are under investigation by multiple agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in connection with a separate case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which revolves around an alleged loan fraud at the PMC Bank amounting to over Rs 4,300 crore. Authorities have claimed that their company had purportedly engaged in a Rs 3,167-crore development contract with the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) for the development of 40 acres of land in Mumbai's Goregaon (West), to be executed in five phases.