Bombay HC grants interim bail to Venugopal Dhoot in ICICI Bank-Videocon loan fraud case

A division bench of Justice Revati Mohite-Dere and Justice Prithviraj K Chavan granted interim release on bail to Dhoot pending hearing and final disposal of his writ petition that also sought to quash and set aside the remand order passed by the special CBI court and CBI FIR. The bench had concluded its hearing and reserved its verdict in Dhoot’s interim bail plea on January 13, which it pronounced on Friday.

Dhoot will be released on a cash bail of Rs 1 lakh and has been asked to cooperate with the CBI probe, among other conditions. He will have to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and sureties of the like amount within two weeks.

The bench rejected an intervention plea by lawyer Ghanshyam Upadhyay against the relief cost of Rs 25,000 to be deposited with the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority. The high court also rejected the intervenor’s plea seeking a stay on the operation of the order.

Dhoot’s lawyer made a statement that he has surrendered his passport and will restrict his travel.

The court held that Dhoot’s arrest was not in accordance with law.

On January 9, the same bench had granted interim bail to former ICICI Bank CEO and managing director Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in a case related to alleged irregularities in loans provided to the Videocon Group.

While the Kochhars were arrested on December 23 last year, Dhoot was arrested three days later in connection with the Videocon loan case. The Kochhars walked out of jail on Tuesday, January 11, after the high court granted them interim bail.

The CBI, through senior advocate Raja Thakare, had told the high court that Dhoot’s arrest was required as he was giving evasive replies. The central agency had said Dhoot, along with the Kochhars, had decided what precise answers were to be given to the agency to lie before it, therefore their confrontation with each other was required. “The moment he was arrested, the blame game started (between Dhoot and Kochhars),” the agency said.

Thakare was referring to a submission Dhoot’s lawyer made before the special CBI court that his client was arrested despite cooperating with CBI, because Kochhars, who are his co-accused, had questioned during their first remand hearing why he (Dhoot) had not been held so far. Dhoot was subsequently arrested in a “mechanical manner”, his lawyer had told the special court.

After the bench sought to know if the agency was able to get Dhoot confronted with Kochhars in custody, Thakare had said that after he was granted CBI remand for three days, during that they were interrogated together on December 26 and 27. The central agency said it complied with the law while arresting the accused and the release will jeopardise the probe.

Advocate Sandeep S Ladda for Dhoot also said that his client is a senior citizen suffering from serious ailments, including diabetes, required 24/7 care and had undergone several surgeries and hospitalisations in the last seven years.

Ladda further said that the Enforcement Directorate was conducting a probe in a related case of money laundering and the agency had filed a chargesheet without arresting Dhoot. He told the high court that he was granted bail in the case and the same should be considered.