Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday (19 February) came down heavily on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for arresting former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in connection with the ‘Videocon-ICICI’ bank loan scam case, and termed it an ‘illegal’ and ‘abusive’ act.
The court also heard a petition filed by the Kochhar couple, who had challenged their arrest by the CBI on December 23, 2022, and sought bail. The court granted them bail in an interim order on January 9, 2023, and confirmed it in its final order on February 6, 2024. The court said that the CBI had failed to show any grounds or facts to justify the arrest and that the arrest was made without following the due process of law.
The court said that the CBI had violated Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which restricts the power of arrest if an accused complies with a notice issued by the police to appear for questioning. The court said that the arrest can be made only when the police have a reasonable belief that it is necessary to do so. The court said that the CBI had not shown any such belief in this case.
The court also rejected the CBI’s argument that the Kochhar couple was not cooperating in the investigation and that their custodial interrogation was needed to unravel the conspiracy. The court said that the accused have the right to remain silent during interrogation, as guaranteed by Article 20(3) of the Constitution, which protects them from self-incrimination. The court said that exercising this right cannot be construed as non-cooperation in the investigation.
The court also noted that the FIR against the Kochhar couple was registered in 2019 and they were summoned for questioning in 2022. The court said that despite the seriousness of the offense, the CBI had not interrogated or summoned them for more than three years after the registration of the FIR. The court said that this showed the lack of urgency and diligence on the part of the CBI.
The court also observed that the Kochhar couple had appeared before the CBI whenever they were issued notices under Section 41A, from June 2022 onwards. The court said that this showed their willingness to cooperate in the investigation.
The CBI had also arrested Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot in the loan scam case. The High Court had granted him bail in its interim order in January 2023. The CBI had alleged that the Kochhar couple had received illegal gratification from Dhoot in exchange for sanctioning loans to his companies.
