Wadhawans get bail in Yes Bank case as ED misses chargesheet deadline

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Wadhawan brothers – Kapil and Dhiraj – the two main accused in the Yes Bank scam as the Enforcement Directorate failed to file its charge-sheet within the stipulated time period.

Kapil Wadhawan, the promoter or DHFL and Dheeraj Wadhawan, the founder of RKW Developers Ltd are linked to Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor.

Justice Bharati Dangre directed the Wadhawan brothers to surrender their passports and deposit Rs 1 lakh each as surety for granting bail – as the ED could not file their charge-sheet within the 60-day period.

The Wadhawans were arrested by CBI from the hill station of Mahabaleshwar in Satara district on 26 April. Later, the ED had taken their custody on 14 May.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh pleaded to stay the bail order for two weeks. However, Justice Dangre declined saying that the settled legal position is that once the right of default bail is due, an accused cannot be kept in custody for even a day.

They Wadhawan brothers, however, would remain in jail, as they have been booked by the CBI in the same case.

The Yes Bank, when Rana Kapoor was the MD & CEO, had invested around Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the troubled Diwan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL). Simultaneously, the DHFL promoters paid a kickback of Rs 600 crore to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of  RAB Enterprises (India) Pvt Ltd.

The CBI case was registered on 7 March in New Delhi.