Delhi HC seeks Supertech chairman stand on ED’s plea challenging his interim bail

A single-judge bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri issued notice to Arora while noting that he has been released following the trial court’s January 16 order. Permitting Arora to file a response to the ED’s plea, the HC listed the matter on February 9.

During the hearing, advocate Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the agency, submitted, “Interim medical bail for 30 days has been granted on completely erroneous presumption that he is sick and infirm as understood under Section 45 of PMLA. Completely ignoring the settled law laid down by this Hon’ble court that sickness has to be in nature which is either life-threatening or life-endangering. When he requested some surgery on his back, RML hospital, which had given the date of March 7, even preponed it. The court makes a presumption that even this preponement may affect other persons who are likely to be treated without any basis, any material, without calling for any report from the hospital concerned and granting him interim bail.”

Hossain said that Arora’s regular bail was rejected by the trial court which has not been assailed; the writ petition against illegal arrest has been confirmed by the HC and SC and finally, the only recourse available to Arora was to seek interim medical bail and then seek “evergreening” of the same.

On January 16, the trial court, while granting bail, had observed, “The medical report placed on record itself indicates that the applicant/accused is required to undergo surgery in a super specialty hospital and said facility/treatment is not available in the jail hospital. The applicant/accused has been given a date for surgery in super specialty hospital i.e. Dr. RML Hospital for 07.03.2023 which itself shows that surgery is required to be conducted upon the applicant/accused on an urgent basis… but in the government hospital, due to longer waiting, such a long date is given… It is a matter of common knowledge that government institutions/super specialty hospitals are overburdened. Therefore, even in the urgent need of surgery, a longer date is being given by the treating doctors.”

The trial court had thereafter also observed, “The date of surgery has been preponed to some shorter period on the email written by the Enforcement Directorate, however, this court is not inclined to issue further directions to the hospital authorities to prepone the date of surgery given to the applicant/accused at the cost of cancellation of the surgery of other patients who have already obtained the said date long time back. This would be an injustice to the patients/other common citizens who are waiting for their turn for a long time.”

The trial court had further observed that the examining doctor at RML Hospital had prescribed the surgery and implant for Arora as the necessary treatment.

Taking note of the prescription from the hospital which was “uncontroverted”, the trial court said that in Arora’s case, “exceptional circumstances” existed and “specialised surgery” was required for treating his illness.
Before the trial court, Arora had sought 90-day interim bail to treat disc-degenerative disease of the spine. He was advised cervical spine surgery along with an implant under pre-anaesthesia evaluation.

According to the FIRs, Supertech allegedly cheated at least 670 homebuyers of Rs 164 crore. The main allegation put forth by homebuyers was a delay in handing over possession of flats. The ED further alleged that money collected by Supertech was siphoned off from ongoing projects through various shell companies. The agency stated that a prima facie case under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is made out against the accused.

While granting interim bail, the trial court imposed certain conditions on Arora which included that while on bail he wouldn’t operate any bank account of the accused companies, wouldn’t use the liberty granted for any other purpose other than medical treatment, he wouldn’t leave Delhi without the court’s permission and surrender his passport in court. The trial court further said that once the 30-day period is over, Arora will surrender before the jail superintendent.