NEW DELHI: On Monday, September 9, the Delhi High Court granted bail to Dheeraj Wadhwan, former director of Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), on health grounds in connection with a multi-crore bank fraud case under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The decision was reported by news agency ANI. Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain granted bail after hearing Wadhwan’s plea, citing his health condition.
“The petitioner qualifies as a sick person,” said Justice Jain, according to the ANI report, setting aside the trial court’s earlier decision.
The High Court had sought a status report regarding Wadhwan’s bail plea, which had been dismissed by the trial court. The vacation bench, led by Justice Vikas Mahajan, instructed the CBI to file this status report, as per ANI.
Senior advocate Amit Desai represented Wadhwan via videoconference, while senior advocate Siddharth Agrawal appeared in person. Advocate Anupam S Sharma appeared on behalf of the CBI to oppose the bail application.
Bail application
Wadhwan had previously withdrawn a bail application from the Delhi High Court on May 17, following his arrest in connection with the DHFL loan fraud case.
His bail plea had been rejected twice by the trial court. On May 10, Special Judge A K Sarpal of the Rouse Avenue Court dismissed the plea on grounds of maintainability and ordered Wadhwan’s arrest by May 11, in compliance with Supreme Court directions issued on January 24.
The trial court noted that Wadhwan could submit a fresh bail application after being taken into custody, at which time his plea for interim or regular bail, including on medical grounds, would be considered.
Wadhwan had been granted protection by the Bombay High Court until May 11 due to his medical condition, having undergone surgery and receiving home treatment post-discharge. However, after his arrest, his bail plea was rejected by the trial court, which cited the Supreme Court’s earlier order requiring Wadhwan to be taken into custody.
Delhi High Court order
The Supreme Court had set aside a Delhi High Court order from January 24 that had granted statutory bail to DHFL promoters Dheeraj Wadhwan and his brother Kapil Wadhwan.
The apex court ruled that the chargesheet had been filed and cognizance taken in due time, and the Wadhwan brothers could not claim statutory bail as a matter of right. The Supreme Court further criticised the lower courts for granting default bail despite the ongoing investigation.
The CBI had filed its chargesheet on the 88th day after the First Information Report (FIR) was registered, and the trial court initially granted default bail to the Wadhwan brothers, which the Delhi High Court upheld.
However, the Supreme Court overturned this, stating that the bail was granted erroneously as the chargesheet had been completed in time, even though investigations against other accused were still underway.
The Wadhwan brothers were arrested on July 19, 2023, following an FIR filed by the Union Bank of India.
