Mumbai court permits SFIO to examine Naresh Goyal in jail, asks agency to take medical officer’s opinion

The court said that the contention of the SFIO was justified. The court, however, said that Goyal had recently moved applications seeking medical bail on the grounds that malignancy had been detected in his health reports and that he required treatment. “Therefore, whatever examination, the applicant /Investigating Officer has proposed in this application, should be undertaken with the advise of the Chief Medical Officer, Arthur Road Jail, Mumbai,” special judge M G Deshpande said in his order on Friday.

The court had also heard arguments on the interim bail of Goyal. He had sought interim bail on medical grounds for six months citing that he will need treatment for the malignancy growth detected in his body. The court is likely to decide on his plea on Tuesday.

Goyal was arrested on September 1, 2023, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which claimed he had laundered money, siphoning off loans to the tune of Rs 538.62 crore that had been given to Jet Airways by Canara Bank. A probe was also initiated in 2019 by the SFIO.

On Friday, Goyal through his lawyers opposed the SFIO plea stating that in the last five years, he had responded and cooperated in the SFIO’s probe.