NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has requested a response from the CBI regarding a bail application submitted by former DHFL promoter Kapil Wadhawan in connection with an alleged ₹34,926 crore bank fraud case.
A bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi has issued notice to the agency for its response.
On August 4, the Delhi High Court denied Wadhawan bail, citing that his conduct during custody was “not beyond reproach.”
The court emphasized that economic offences affect not only individual victims but the financial system as a whole.
The CBI contends that Wadhawan, as the promoter and CMD of DHFL, orchestrated a significant financial fraud by misappropriating approximately ₹34,926 crore from a consortium of 17 banks.
The High Court remarked, “The applicant’s conduct during custody has not been exemplary. The allegations regarding asset manipulation and judicial custody transactions are serious and imply that he continues to exert substantial control.”
The High Court also noted that Wadhawan is involved in multiple investigations across different jurisdictions related to serious financial crimes, which undermined his claim that he would not pose a risk if granted bail.
According to the high court judge, “The court cannot allow the release of someone prima facie identified as the mastermind of a deeply entrenched financial fraud, especially during the early stages of the trial.”
If released, the court warned that Wadhawan might tamper with evidence or evade justice.
“Many witnesses in this case are former employees or associates of DHFL, posing a high risk that the petitioner may attempt to influence them,” the order stated.
Wadhawan is accused of creating and managing 87 shell companies named after associates, employees, and family members to siphon funds, falsely recorded as housing loans for over 2.6 lakh fictitious customers through a non-existent “Bandra Branch-001” in DHFL’s internal systems.
He was taken into custody on July 19, 2022, granted default statutory bail on December 3, 2022, but had his bail revoked by the Supreme Court on January 24, 2024.
The High Court clarified that his actual custody duration was two years, not four years as claimed.
Considering the nature and severity of the accusations, his pivotal role in the conspiracy, the potential negative impact of his release on the trial, and the immense amount of misappropriated funds, the court found no merit in his bail application.
