Bail for Rana Kapoor: Keeping him in jail any further would be 'pre-trial conviction', says court
CBI court in Mumbai that granted bail to Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor in a fraud case has observed that any further incarceration without trial would amount to "pre-trial conviction" of the banker. Kapoor walked out of jail on Friday evening after being granted bail by special CBI Judge M G Deshpande in the last pending case against him, also involving the Avantha Group. Kapoor was arrested in March 2020 in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He was booked in eight cases by ED and Central Bureau of Investigation related to fraud at the Yes Bank. The court, in its order that was made available on Saturday, said there is no justification as to why the applicant, who has already spent over 4 years in custody for numerous other cases, should be detained further, especially when he has been granted bail in all other cases.
Kapoor's continued detention «would amount to pre-trial conviction», the judge said. It noted the prosecution failed to satisfy the court «regarding the commencement and conclusion of simultaneous trials for this CBI Special case and PMLA Special case (against him)».
«He (the special public prosecutor) cannot justify why the 66-year-old applicant, who suffers from multiple health issues as outlined in the bail application, should remain incarcerated indefinitely,» the court further said.
Even if there is a prima-facie case against the accused and if there is no reasonable apprehension of tampering with the witnesses or evidence, or absconding from the trial, the accused is
