• CBI named Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar as well as Venugopal Dhoot along with Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Ltd in an FIR registered in 2019 under the Indian Penal Code named as accused.
The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan fraud case.
The Bombay High Court allowed the release of former ICICI CEO Chanda Kochhar and Deepak Kochhar on cash bail of ₹1 lakh each, saying the arrest was not in accordance with law.
The Kochhar family was arrested by the CBI late last month along with Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot for their alleged role in the case and all three are currently in jail under judicial custody. The Kochhars have termed their arrest as "illegal" on the ground that no clearance was taken prior to CBI action as required under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). Arguing on behalf of Chanda Kochhar, senior advocate Amit Desai along with advocate Kushal Mor said she was arrested after "perfunctory interrogation". He argued that Chanda Kochhar did not know what was happening with her husband's business. Desai continued. A male officer arrested the former head of ICICI Bank and the relevant memo does not show the presence of a female officer as required under the law. The officers…there is an obligation on the state to protect women,” argued Desai. The Senior Advocate submitted that no sanction was taken from the authority concerned before registering the FIR (First Information Report) in the matter as mandated by Section 17A of the PCA.
Senior advocate Vikram Chowdhary, appearing for Deepak Kochhar, argued that when the couple appeared before the central agency for questioning, they were duly served notice under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). So he should not have been arrested. Section 41A of CrPC provides that notice of appearance before police officers is necessary in certain types of offences. The law mandates that the person complying with the notice should not be arrested unless the officer records the reasons. Senior advocate Raja Thackeray, arguing for the CBI, said Kochhar should have first made her application before the trial court. Justifying their arrest, he said the duo had given "wrong" answers to questions put to them by the investigating officer relating to the alleged fraud. He said that the trial court perused the case diary and only then sent him to custody.
His arrest was for proper investigation as non-cooperation would definitely affect the investigation, Thackeray said, adding that only when people are confronted, the truth comes out. He submitted that Chanda Kochhar was not touched by the male officer at the time of her arrest as the action pertained to a white-collar crime and the couple was not handcuffed.
Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar as well as Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Limited and Videocon Industries Limited along with Venugopal Dhoot in the FIR registered in 2019 under sections of the Indian Penal Code. has been made accused. relating to criminal conspiracy and provisions of PCA. The central agency has alleged that private sector lender ICICI Bank sanctioned credit facilities worth ₹3,250 crore to these companies in violation of norms.
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