Yes Bank case: Wadhawans get bail

Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan on Thursday were granted bail by the Bombay high court. The promoters were in the custody of Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Yes Bank money laundering case.

The Wadhawan brothers were taken into custody on 14 May to aide the investigative agency in its probe of ₹5050 crore worth of funds that were allegedly laundered. The agency alleged that former Yes Bank promoters, Rana Kapoor and his family gave high value loans to certain borrowers in lieu of illegal gratification.

They were granted bail on the ground that ED failed to file its charge sheet against them in the case within the stipulated 60-day period. Which as per law is grounds for automatic bail.

"Bail is a right, jail is the exception. It is everybodys right to get bail as it is a matter of personal liberty. As part of public sentiment we celebrate arrests as compared to convictions, when the focus should be on convictions and quicker investigations," said Sherbir Panag, founding partner, Panag and Babu, a law firm.

The court directed the duo to deposit ₹1 lakh each as surety and surrender their passports. The brothers, however, will remain in jail as they have also been booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the same case.

ED in its first chargesheet filed in the month of May had claimed that Yes Bank bought debentures worth ₹3,700 crore of DHFL, and in return, DHFL sanctioned a ₹600-crore loan without adequate collateral to Doit Urban Ventures Pvt Ltd where Kapoor’s daughters are directors.