PMC Bank Scam: PMLA Court Refuses To Extend Rakesh Wadhawan’s Medical Bail

Rakesh Wadhawan, the promoter of HDIL, was given interim bail in the INR 4,300-crore Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank scam case due to medical reasons. However, the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court handling the case has denied prolonging the release. Special Judge M G Deshpande ruled that the accused is not allowed to take advantage of the previous temporary respite that was given to him for “the hollow and blanket prayer.”

Wadhawan’s plea was denied by Special Judge MG Deshpande due to strong resistance from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Through his attorney, the applicant argued that he was given three months of interim medical bail by the Supreme Court in November 2023, with an expiration date of February 2, 2024. He further mentioned that on February 8, 2024, the High Court (HC) granted him a three-week extension of his temporary medical bail.

The attorney expressly argued that the PMLA court should extend the three-month interim bail that had previously been granted, as the High Court had continued the interim bail that the Supreme Court had given.

The application that highlighted the applicant’s function and behaviour was fiercely resisted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). In his appearance on behalf of ED, the special public prosecutor, Sunil Gonsalves, emphasised how the applicant had misled the court. He claimed that the applicant had concealed his involvement in the predicate offence and his status as an undertrial prisoner from the Apex court.

The ED angrily denied bringing up section 45 of the PMLA or section 39 of the CrPC, arguing that the agency was neither in court at the relevant moment, nor had the applicant notified it of any such motion.

The agency further contended that this was the first time the accused had filed an application under section 439 CrPC read with section 45 of the PMLA, seeking to extend the interim bail granted by the PMLA court for a period of three months, and that the High Court order dated February 8, 2024, limited the interim relief only to the EOW offence and not in respect of the PMLA case.