Jet Airways’ founder, Naresh Goyal, has moved the Bombay High Court to challenge his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. This relates to allegations of laundering a loan of Rs 538.62 crore from Canara Bank intended for the airline.
Goyal asserts that his arrest was unlawful, aiming to overturn the special court’s decisions to place him initially in ED custody and later in judicial custody.
Goyal’s plea will be heard by a division bench on September 20, contending that his arrest infringes upon his fundamental right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
On Thursday, the special court remanded the 74-year-old Goyal to Arthur Road Jail for a two-week period in judicial custody, as the ED did not request further custody. He was apprehended by the ED on September 1 and has been under the agency’s custody for questioning since.
The ED alleges that Goyal misappropriated the bank loan, diverting company funds by employing family members and using the money to pay salaries for his daughter’s company. Goyal disputes these allegations, asserting that the funds were appropriately utilized for the company.
The ED’s case was initiated based on an FIR filed by the CBI in May, following a complaint lodged by Canara Bank in November 2022, claiming that the loan intended for the airline’s operations was used for personal expenses.
The bank’s complaint is grounded in a forensic audit conducted by an external auditing firm for the period spanning 2011-2019. While the Canara Bank loan was classified as a non-performing asset in 2019, the ED contends that the Rs 538 crore loan was, in fact, the proceeds of a crime that was diverted and misused. The ED asserts that this was ostensibly carried out under the guise of professional and consultancy expenses for various entities.
