The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a bail plea filed by former Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) promoter Kapil Wadhawan in the alleged ₹34,926 crore bank fraud case — one of the country’s largest financial scams.
A bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi issued notice to the CBI and directed it to file its reply on Wadhawan’s bail petition.
On August 4, the Delhi High Court had rejected Wadhawan’s bail plea, observing that his conduct during custody was “not beyond reproach.” The court described the case as a serious economic offence that affected not just specific victims but the financial system as a whole.
“It is noteworthy that the conduct of the applicant during custody has not been beyond reproach. The allegations regarding manipulation of valuable assets and transactions carried out during judicial custody are grave and suggest that the applicant continues to exercise significant control and influence,” the High Court had stated.
According to the CBI, Wadhawan, as the promoter and CMD of DHFL, orchestrated a massive financial fraud involving diversion and misappropriation of approximately ₹34,926 crore from a consortium of 17 banks.
The agency alleged that Wadhawan created and operated 87 shell companies in the names of associates, employees, and relatives to siphon off funds. These were allegedly shown as retail housing loans to over 2.6 lakh fictitious customers through a non-existent “Bandra Branch-001” in DHFL’s internal systems.
The High Court, while denying bail, said Wadhawan’s release could jeopardize the trial and risk tampering with evidence.
“The court cannot permit the release of a person who is prima facie the mastermind of a deep-rooted financial fraud, especially when the trial is at a nascent stage,” the order said.
It also took note of the CBI’s submission that Wadhawan was facing several investigations across jurisdictions and that many witnesses in the case were former DHFL employees or associates, creating a strong risk of witness influence.
Wadhawan was arrested in the case on July 19, 2022. He was granted statutory default bail on December 3, 2022, but the Supreme Court later cancelled that bail on January 24, 2024. The High Court noted that his effective custody was two years and not four years as claimed by the defence.
Rejecting his plea, the High Court had concluded:
“Having regard to the nature and seriousness of the allegations, the gravity of the offence, the applicant’s central role in the conspiracy, the potential adverse impact of his release on the trial and the huge magnitude of the funds siphoned off, this court finds no merit in the present application.”
The Supreme Court will now consider the CBI’s response before deciding on whether Wadhawan merits bail in the case.
