Former ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak were released from Mumbai’s Byculla jail on Tuesday, a day after the Bombay High Court granted interim relief to the couple in the ICICI Bank-Videocon case.
Observing that their arrests were not in accordance with the law, the high court ordered their release on a cash bail of Rs 1 lakh each. The bench said the duo shall cooperate with the probe and attend the CBI office as and when summoned.
“We have held that the petitioners’ (Kochhars) arrest was not in accordance with provisions of law and this warrants their release,” the high court said. The court also asked Kochhars to surrender their passports to the CBI.
The CBI arrested Kochhars on December 23, 2022 in connection with the Videocon-ICICI Bank loan case.
The CBI named the Kochhars, Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot along with Nupower Renewables (NRL) – managed by Deepak Kochhar – Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Ltd as accused in the FIR (first information report) linked to the case registered in 2019 under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The central agency has alleged that ICICI Bank, headed by Chanda Kochhar from 2009 to 2018, sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to these companies in violation of norms.
It further claimed that as a part of quid pro quo (Latin expression literally meaning “something for something”), Dhoot made an investment of Rs 64 crore in Nupower Renewables through Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL), and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar through a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012.
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment