The Supreme Court has granted bail to former DHFL promoters Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj in a multi-crore bank loan scam case, holding that keeping undertrial prisoners in custody for years without trial violates the constitutional guarantee of personal liberty under Article 21.
In an order dated December 11, a bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi said prolonged incarceration without adjudication strikes at the core of the right to life and personal liberty. Emphasising a settled principle of criminal law, the court reiterated that bail is the rule and jail the exception, and that pretrial detention cannot be allowed to become punishment without a finding of guilt.
The bench noted the scale of the case and the number of witnesses involved, observing that even if the trial were conducted on a day-to-day basis, it was unlikely to conclude within two to three years. In these circumstances, the court said continued custody would be disproportionate and excessive, warranting judicial intervention.
Without expressing any view on the merits of the case, the Supreme Court ordered the release of the Wadhawan brothers on bail, subject to strict conditions. The court directed them to disclose their place of residence and contact details to the trial court and the local police station within a week of their release. They have been asked to mark their presence at the jurisdictional police station once a month and, after charges are framed, to appear before the trial court on dates fixed.
The brothers have also been barred from leaving India without prior permission of the High Court and must surrender their passports to the trial court within two days of release. The bench made it clear that any attempt to influence or threaten witnesses, directly or indirectly, would lead to cancellation of bail. It further warned that violation of any bail condition, unless justified by exceptional or unforeseeable circumstances, would be a valid ground for revoking relief.
Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan were arrested in July 2022 in connection with the case. The Central Bureau of Investigation filed its chargesheet in October 2022, following which a trial court took cognisance of the matter.
The case stems from an FIR registered on a complaint by Union Bank of India, which alleged that DHFL, its former chairman-cum-managing director Kapil Wadhawan, former director Dheeraj Wadhawan, and others entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat a consortium of 17 banks led by Union Bank. According to the CBI, the accused induced the consortium to sanction loans amounting to Rs 42,871.42 crore, a significant portion of which was allegedly siphoned off through falsification of DHFL’s books and dishonest defaults on repayments.
