DHFL bank fraud: SC asks CBI to file response on bizman Ajay Nawandar’s bail plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to file its response on the bail plea filed by businessman Ajay Ramesh Nawandar in a Rs 34,615-crore bank fraud case involving Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL).

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale has extended the interim protection granted to Nawandar to remain in hospital till October 14.

“In the meantime, the respondent is directed to get the petitioner’s eyes tested from a senior consultant at the Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, New Delhi, and submit a report before the court on the said date.

“The respondent (CBI) will also file its counter-affidavit or obtain instructions as it may feel appropriate on the main petition seeking bail,” the bench has said.

The top court was hearing Nawandar’s plea challenging a May 31 order of the Delhi High Court that dismissed his bail petition.

The high court had noted that the CBI has taken a serious and consistent stand that the applicant is an influential person with a considerable clout in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, and there is every possibility that he will influence witnesses if released on bail as most of the witnesses are private witnesses.

“The conduct of the applicant on interim bail reflects his tendency to misuse the concessions granted by the courts and a propensity to manipulate. The trial court has rendered a finding that the applicant was time and again seeking extension of medical bail by exaggerating his medical ailments by manipulating records with the help of doctors in private hospitals,” the high court had noted.

Earlier, the trial court, while denying bail to Nawandar, had said the accused allegedly entered into a conspiracy with the main accused — the Wadhawan brothers — in order to dispose of and conceal the proceeds of embezzled funds.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had conducted searches at Nawandar’s premises and seized a large collection of uber-luxury watches worth crores of rupees, including Rolex Oyster Perpetual, Cartier, Omega and Hublot Michael Kors, and two paintings worth Rs 33 crore.

The CBI has said these valuable items belong to Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, who allegedly defrauded banks to the tune of Rs 34,615 crore, making it the biggest such case probed by the federal agency.

These were allegedly bought using the proceeds of the scam and kept at Nawandar’s premises to evade seizure by enforcement agencies, the CBI has said.

It has said Nawandar was acting as a conspirator, aiding and abetting the Wadhawans to hide the proceeds of the crime, and was in the process to dispose of these items when he was arrested by the agency.

The CBI acted on a complaint from the Union Bank of India (UBI), the leader of a 17-member lender consortium that extended credit facilities to DHFL to the tune of Rs 42,871 crore between 2010 and 2018.

The bank has alleged that Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, in a criminal conspiracy with others, misrepresented and concealed facts, committed criminal breach of trust and abused public funds to cheat the consortium to the tune of Rs 34,615 crore by defaulting on loan repayments from May 2019 onwards.

An audit of the DHFL’s account books showed that the company allegedly committed financial irregularities, diverted funds, fabricated books and round-tripped funds to “create assets for Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan” using public money, the bank has said.