PNB scam: Court rejects Mehul Choksi's plea seeking documents related to passport suspension

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Mehul Choksi's plea seeking records related to the suspension of his passport from the regional passport office.
Choksi, an accused in a multi-million dollars scam at the Punjab National Bank, has claimed that he can not return to India as his passport is suspended on the ground of a «security threat to India».
The special judge for the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases S M Menjoge, however, allowed his plea seeking copies of investigation files relevant to decide whether there are sufficient grounds to declare Choksi a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO).

The Enforcement Directorate has moved the court seeking to declare the businessman a fugitive economic offender, and an examination of these documents was necessary «for fair adjudication of the matter», said Choksi's application, filed through advocate Vijay Agarwal.
Under the Fugitive Economic Offender Act, 2018, a person against whom a warrant has been issued in relation to a scheduled offence by any court in India and who has left the country to avoid criminal prosecution (or refuses to return to the country) can be declared an FEO.
Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are wanted by the ED and CBI for allegedly defrauding the PNB to the tune of Rs 13,400 crore in collusion with a few of its employees.
Choksi has claimed that he neither left India to avoid criminal prosecution nor was he refusing to return, «but he has been unable to return due to reasons beyond his control.»