A special court Wednesday rejected bail to HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan in connection with the over Rs 6,000 crore money laundering case linked with Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank. The two were arrested in 2019 and had sought bail citing provisions of section 436A of the Criminal Procedure Code. Under this section, a person can be considered for release from custody if he or she has spent more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence The two had sought bail stating that they face a maximum of seven years in jail and have spent more than half of that — over three years and five months— in judicial custody. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) submitted that their investigation in the case is still ongoing. Special Judge M G Deshpande said that the allegations against them pertain to misappropriation and laundering of public money linked to PMC Bank. The court said that relief under section 436A CrPc is not an absolute right and the court may still deny the relief owing to the ground, such as where the trial was delayed at the instance of accused himself. The court noted that in 2020 the accused had made their first bail applications on merit and the pleas were rejected by the special court, the Bombay High court and the Supreme Court. Rakesh Wadhawan also filed his third bail plea on March 24, 2022 and it has not been “seriously pressed” for a hearing in the 26 dates that have lapsed. The court said that from 2020 to 2023 both the accused have filed bail applications and appeals till the Supreme Court and during this period the court could not frame charges. “All this is nothing but an implied stay to the trial at the behest of both accused. Both of them very well know that once charge is framed and trial is begun, there is no likelihood of their release on bail. Therefore, rounds after rounds of bail application are going on, for which both accused are responsible," the court said.
