Bombay High Court has called the arrest of Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar by CBI as an ‘abuse of power’ by the probe agency. What all did the court say and why, read to know…
New Delhi: The former Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the ICICI-Videocon Loan Scam. Now, during a court hearing, the Bombay High Court has called this arrest an ‘abuse of power’ on CBI’s end has also said that it was ‘without application of mind and due regard to the law’. Confirming a former interim order passed by another bench granting them bail, here’s what Bombay High Court said for the CBI and why…
Chanda Kochhar, Husband CBI Arrest ‘Abuse Of Power’: Bombay HC
As mentioned earlier, the Bombay High Court has called Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar’s arrest by CBI an ‘abuse of power’. The court has said that the central probing agency has been unsuccessful in showing the right circumstances or supportive material basis on which this arrest was made. And since valid reasons are absent, the arrest according to court is illegal. In the words of Bombay High Court, “Such routine arrest without application of mind and due regard to the law amounts to an abuse of power.”
Why Did Bombay HC Arrest By CBI An ‘Abuse Of Power’?
In the order dated February 6, the Bombay HC Division Bench of Justice Anuja Prabhudessai and Justice NR Borkar said that Section 41A of the Criminal Code Procedure (CrPC) has been violated while making arrests in the ICICI-Videocon Loan Scam Case. It was clearly specified that this section of the CrPC was introduced to avoid routine arrests and stop the police from making an arrest unnecessarily, especially when the accused are complying with the notice/s issued.
The court further put its foot down saying that despite the investigation agency having the power and authority to interrogate an accused and feel satisfied, the same has never been ‘wholly immune from judicial reviewability’. The court further said, “The court can consider whether the reasons for deprivation of liberty are rational, reasonable or fanciful.”
The FIR was first registered against Chanda and Deepak Kochhar in 2019 but they were summoned for questioning in 2022 – “Despite the gravity of the offence, the petitioners (Kochhars) were not interrogated or summoned for a period of over three years from the date of registration of the crime.”
What Is The ICICI-Videocon Loan Scam Case?
As said before, the FIR was filed against the Kochhars in 2019 but the rounds of questioning by CBI began only in 2022. The CBI arrested the couple on December 23, 2022, in the Videocon-ICICI Bank loan case. They immediately moved the high court challenging the arrest and sought for the same to be declared illegal, and by way of interim order, sought to be released on bail. On January 9, 2023, the court, in an interim order, granted the Kochhars bail, noting that the CBI had made the arrest casually and mechanically and without application of mind. The CBI had claimed that the Kochhars were arrested as they were not cooperating with the probe and that their custodial interrogation was required to unearth the entire gamut of conspiracy. Apart from the Kochhars, the CBI had also arrested Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot in the case. The high court granted him bail in January 2023 in its interim order.
The probe agency has alleged that private sector lender ICICI Bank had sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of ₹ 3,250 crore to the companies of Videocon Group promoted by Dhoot in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines, and credit policy of the bank. The CBI had named the Kochhars, Dhoot along with Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Ltd as accused in the FIR registered in 2019 under the Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The agency has alleged that the ICICI Bank sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of ₹ 3,250 crore to these companies in violation of norms.
It further claimed that as a part of quid pro quo, Dhoot made an investment of ₹ 64 crore in Nupower Renewables through Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL) and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar through a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012.
(Inputs from PTI)