Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in a mortgage fraud case, saying their arrest was not in accordance with the provisions of legislation.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and P Okay Chavan held that the arrest of Kochhars was in violation of Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which mandates sending discover for look earlier than the police officer involved.

The couple was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on December 23, 2022 in reference to the Videocon-ICICI Bank mortgage case. They are presently in judicial custody.

Apart from the Kochhars, the CBI has additionally arrested Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot within the case. He can be in judicial custody.

“According to the facts, the petitioners’ (Kochhars) arrest was not done in accordance with the provisions of law. There has been non-compliance of section 41(A) thus warranting their release,” the excessive court docket stated.

“The arrest has not been in conformity with the provisions of law,” it added.

The bench directed the duo to deposit a money bail quantity of Rs one lakh every.

The couple’s lawyer later stated they’d now provoke the method earlier than the particular CBI court docket for his or her launch.

The HC stated the duo shall cooperate with the probe and attend the CBI workplace as and when summoned.

The court docket additionally requested the Kochhars to give up their passports to the CBI.

The order was handed on petitions filed by Chanda Kochhar and her husband, difficult their arrest by the CBI in reference to the Videocon-ICICI Bank mortgage case.

The duo of their pleas stated their arrest by the CBI was arbitrary and unlawful.

Senior counsel Amit Desai showing for Chanda Kochhar had argued that she was arrested with out compliance underneath Section 46(4) of the CrPC as there was no presence of a feminine police officer throughout her arrest.

The part stipulates that no girl might be arrested after sundown and earlier than dawn with out acquiring prior permission of the judicial Justice of the Peace.

Desai submitted that Chanda Kochhar’s arrest memo didn’t embody the identify of the feminine police officer.

He additional stated Chanda Kochhar had cooperated with the CBI in its probe into the case and appeared earlier than the company as and when summoned for questioning.

Desai submitted that Chanda Kochhar had supplied to offer a press release to the CBI in 2019 when the FIR was registered, nevertheless she acquired no response.

Till July 2022, the CBI had not even issued summons, after which there was arrest in December on the bottom of non-co-operation. “What is it that compelled the CBI to train powers of arrest? Ground of non co-operation is subjective”, Desai submitted.

Senior counsel Vikram Chaudhari showing for Deepak Kochhar had argued that the latter had additionally been co-operating with the central company in its probe into the case.

However, senior counsel Raja Thakare, showing for the CBI, stated there was no violation of statutory or constitutional provisions through the arrest of Kochhars.

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 within the FIR registered in 2019 underneath 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 Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL), and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar by a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012.

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