In an enormous aid for Videocon Group founder, Venugopal Dhoot was granted interim bail by the Bombay High Court, almost one month after he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the ICICI Bank-Videocon mortgage fraud case.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and P Ok Chavan granted bail to Dhoot on a surety of Rs 1 lakh. The court docket permitted him to furnish a money bail after which deposit the surety quantity two weeks thereafter, stories PTI.

The High Court bench additionally refused the CBI’s request to remain its order in order that it might method the Supreme Court with an attraction.

Additionally, the court docket additionally dismissed an software filed by an advocate in search of to intervene in the matter and for the bench to recall its earlier order granting bail to 2 different accused in the case – Chanda Kochhar, former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the ICICI Bank, and her husband Deepak Kochhar.

Dhoot had approached the excessive court docket on January 10 after the identical bench granted bail to the Kochhars. The couple was arrested on December 23, 2022.

Dhoot’s advocate Sandeep Laddha has proceed to argue that Dhoot’s arrest was unwarranted as he had cooperated in the probe.

Meanwhile, the CBI opposed the identical saying the Videocon Group founder had tried to keep away from the probe and therefore the arrest was authorized.

Dhoot is presently in judicial custody and had sought the HC to quash the CBI FIR and sought to be launched on bail by means of an interim order.

In his bail plea, Dhoot termed his arrest by CBI as “arbitrary, unlawful, executed with out following due process of regulation and in gross violation of part 41 (A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which mandates for a discover to be issued to accused to hitch the probe and to make an arrest provided that completely needed”.

In its order granting interim bail to the Kochhars, the HC had come down heavily on the CBI for making the arrest in a “casual and mechanical” method and with out software of thoughts.

The CBI has alleged that non-public sector lender ICICI Bank had sanctioned credit score amenities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to the businesses of Videocon Group promoted by Dhoot in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, Reserve Bank of India’s pointers, and credit score coverage of the financial institution.

The CBI had named Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar in addition to Dhoot together 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 below Indian Penal Code sections associated to legal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The central company has alleged that the ICICI Bank sanctioned credit score amenities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to those corporations in violation of norms.

It additional alleged that as part of quid professional quo, Dhoot made an funding of Rs 64 crore in Nupower Renewables by way of Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL), and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar by way of a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012.

(With PTI Inputs)

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