The Supreme Court of India issued a notice to Chanda Kochhar, the former Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank, and her husband, Deepak Kochhar, on Friday regarding a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The petition challenges a Bombay High Court order that had deemed their arrest "illegal."
A bench consisting of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar asked for responses to the agency's appeal.
In February this year, the Bombay High Court upheld the interim bail granted to Chanda, the terminated ICICI bank chief, and her businessman husband, Deepak.
While upholding the interim bail order, the Bombay High Court bench criticised the CBI’s arrest of Chanda Kochhar and Deepak Kochhar in connection with an alleged loan fraud. The court described the arrest as "routine, without application of mind, and an abuse of power," further labelling the action as "casual, mechanical, and perfunctory."
ICICI Bank-Videocon Fraud Loan Case
In 2019, the CBI filed a case against the Kochhars, Venugopal Dhoot, the promoter of the Videocon Group, and several associated companies. The case involves allegations that ICICI Bank sanctioned a loan of Rs 1,875 crore to the financially troubled Videocon between June 2009 and April 2012.
The Kochhars were arrested in 2022 in connection with the case but were granted interim bail by the Bombay High Court in January 2023.
The CBI’s chargesheet detailed two main bribery allegations: Dhoot invested Rs 64 crore in Deepak Kochhar’s NuPower Renewables Pvt. Ltd. (NRPL) via M/s. Supreme Energy Private Limited (SEPL); second, funds were funneled to Pinnacle Energy Trust, managed by Kochhar, through a complex series of transactions.
Additionally, it is alleged that a flat in CCI Chambers, owned by the Videocon Group, was sold to Deepak Kochhar’s family trust for Rs 11 lakhs despite its market value being Rs 5.25 crore.
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