Delhi High Court refuses to stay bail to Vivo executives
Delhi High Court Wednesday refused to put a stay on the bail order passed by a lower court, releasing the three Vivo executives, including its Interim chief executive, after the enforcement directorate appealed against it on Tuesday.
The court, while hearing the matter, observed that there are now sufficient safeguards in place to prevent the three executives that includes Chinese national and chief executive Hong Xuquan, chief financial officer Harender Dahiya and tax consultant Hemant Munjal from absconding.
Further, to allay the apprehension of the ED, the court ordered the three to appear at the ED office everyday till the high court hearing comes up.
Hearing the arguments of the three accused that they have not been a flight threat since the investigation began in February 2022, the court said it will not stay the lower court's order, posting the next hearing on January 11.
In a major relief for Vivo, a Delhi court on December 30 ruled as illegal the arrest of the three senior executives of the Chinese smartphone brand, releasing them on bail.
A vacation bench of Justice Dr. Shirish Agarwal Saturday ordered for the release of the accused after posting Rs 2 lakh personal bond and surety bond of like amount.
This after special public prosecutors appearing for the directorate of enforcement submitted for judicial custody ahead of the court releasing its order.
The arrests were made after ED filed a chargesheet against Vivo earlier in December, alleging it has remitted Rs 1 lakh crore outside India between 2014 and 2021.
