SC grants bail to Wadhawans in fraud case

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday granted bail to Kapil Wadhawan, former chairman and managing director of Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL), and his brother Dheeraj Wadhawan, former director of the company, in the ₹34,000-crore bank fraud case.A Bench comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi observed that given the large number of witnesses and the pace of proceedings, even a day-to-day trial was unlikely to conclude within the next two to three years. Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the court said continued incarceration was not justified at this stage.The apex court ordered the release of the Wadhawan brothers on bail subject to stringent conditions. Each has been directed to furnish a personal bond of ₹10 lakh with two sureties of the same amount. They must disclose their place of residence and contact details to the trial court and local police station, mark their presence at the police station once a month, and appear before the trial court as required after framing of charges.Welcoming the order counsel Rohan Dakshini & Prakhar Parekh, Partners at Rashmikant & Partners, who advised the Wadhwans said that “the Supreme Court has emphasised that pre-trial incarceration should be an exception, not the rule. This stance prioritises liberty and the rights of the accused, ensuring that lengthy proceedings are not used as a ruse to continue custody.”The court also barred them from leaving India without prior permission, ordered them to surrender their passports within two days of release, and warned that any attempt to influence or threaten witnesses would lead to cancellation of bail. Any violation of the bail conditions, the court said, would be a valid ground for revocation.Kapil Wadhawan has been accused of creating and operating 87 shell companies in the names of associates, employees and relatives to siphon off funds. Investigators allege the money was falsely shown as retail housing loans to over 2.6 lakh fictitious customers through a non-existent “Bandra Branch-001” in DHFL’s internal systems.He was taken into custody on July 19, 2022, granted default statutory bail in December 2022, but that relief was cancelled by the Supreme Court in January 2024. The court noted that his effective custody amounted to around two years, rejecting claims that he had been incarcerated for four years.