The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit a status report within 10 days concerning the bail plea of Kapil Wadhawan, former promoter of Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), in connection with a multi-crore bank loan scam. Justice Chandra Dhari Singh also scheduled the next hearing for November 7, indicating the court’s intent to expedite the review of this high-profile case.
During the proceedings, Wadhawan’s legal team argued for his release, noting that he has been in custody for approximately 600 days since the case’s inception by the CBI in 2022. They highlighted that Wadhawan is currently the only accused detained in this matter, mentioning that a co-accused had recently been granted bail.
The CBI, however, raised concerns about the procedural approach taken by Wadhawan, criticizing his decision to directly appeal to the High Court instead of the trial court for bail. “He is straightaway coming to the high court bypassing the trial court,” argued the CBI’s counsel, questioning the maintainability of the petition.
In response, Wadhawan’s attorney defended the approach, citing the High Court’s concurrent jurisdiction and previous legal precedents where Wadhawan was initially granted, then lost, default bail—a form of bail granted under the Code of Criminal Procedure when a charge sheet is not filed within specified timelines. The Supreme Court later overturned this bail, leading to his current plea.
The case against Wadhawan and others, including his brother Dheeraj, stems from allegations by the Union Bank of India. They are accused of orchestrating a criminal conspiracy to defraud a consortium of 17 banks by inducing them to sanction loans totaling Rs 42,871.42 crore. According to the CBI, a significant portion of these funds was siphoned off through falsification of DHFL’s books and non-repayment of dues, leading to an alleged wrongful loss of Rs 34,615 crore to the banks as of July 31, 2020.
