During the hearing, a bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and S C Sharma said the Delhi High Court and the trial court “greatly erred” in granting bail to the brothers, who are accused in Rs 34,615-crore bank fraud case.
“We have no hesitation that the charge sheet having been filed and cognisance being taken in due time, respondents could not have claimed statutory bail as a right. [The high court] HC and lower court greatly erred,” Justice Bela M Trivedi said while delivering the judgment.
The bench further said that the trial court would hear afresh on the brothers’ regular bail, and appeals should be granted accordingly.
Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), an accused is entitled for grant of statutory bail if the investigative agency fails to file the charge sheet within 60 or 90 days of the conclusion of the inquiry.
In the case of the Wadhawan brothers, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed the charge sheet on the 88th day after filing the first FIR, as required by law. However, the trial judge granted the accused default bail, and the judgment was stayed by the Delhi High judge in December.
The Wadhawan brothers were arrested in the multi-crore scam on July 19 last year. The high court, however, had clarified that it did not go into the merits of the case.
The charge sheet in the matter was filed on October 15, 2022 and cognisance was taken. In this case, the FIR was based on a complaint filed by the Union Bank of India.
First Published: Jan 24 2024 | 12:06 PM IST
