The Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a Delhi High Court order that had granted default bail to former promoters of Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL), Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj Wadhawan, in connection with a multi-crore bank loan scam case. The Supreme Court Bench, comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, ruled that the chargesheet against the accused was filed within the stipulated time, and the relevant trial court had taken cognizance of the charges in a timely manner. Therefore, the Wadhawan brothers were not entitled to statutory bail as a right.
The court set aside the orders of the trial court and the Delhi High Court granting them default or statutory bail and directed a fresh hearing on regular bail. The accused were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in July 2022, alleging their involvement in a ₹34,615-crore bank fraud case. The chargesheet was filed in October 2022, and further investigation is ongoing.
The Wadhawan brothers had sought bail, arguing that the investigation was incomplete even after 60 days of their arrest, making them eligible for statutory bail under Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The trial court initially rejected their bail plea, but a Delhi trial court granted them default bail on the grounds that the chargesheet filed by the CBI was incomplete.
The Delhi High Court upheld this decision in May 2023. The Supreme Court’s decision allows the appeal by the CBI and orders the withdrawal of default bail, directing the Wadhawan brothers to be taken into custody immediately.
