The Bombay High Court has rejected the bail plea of Ajay Ajit Peter Kerkar, promoter of bankrupt travel firm Cox and Kings, who was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
Court's observations in the case
The high court rejected Kerkar’s bail plea observing that right to be released is not an “absolute right” even after serving half of the minimum imprisonment.
“It is to be noted that even the right to be enlarged on bail after undergoing detention for a period exceeding one half of the minimum period of imprisonment is not an absolute right,” observed Justice Prithviraj K Chavan on Wednesday.
The HC was hearing a bail plea filed by Kerkar in 2021. He was arrested by the ED on November 27, 2020, over allegations of siphoning funds through related party transactions.
The case against Cox and Kings
Cox and Kings came under the scanner after the ED initiated an investigation into allegations of kickbacks taken by Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor. The travel firm owes Rs 5,500 crore to banks and financial institutions and was one of the top borrowers of Yes Bank.
Kerkar is also accused in several cases being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Mumbai Police, and Gujarat Police.
The special court trying cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) rejected Kerkar’s bail plea in ED’s case in 2021, following which he approached the HC.
Accused's plea in court
Kerkar’s advocate Dhiraj Mirajkar submitted that Kerkar has undergone two years and 340 days in custody as an under-trial prisoner while the maximum sentence for the offence alleged against him is three years.
He pointed out that the charges are not yet framed and that the prospects of the trial commencing in time in the near future are bleak, therefore he should be released on bail.
ED counsel's arguments
ED counsel Hiten Venegaonkar argued that half of the maximum period of imprisonment for the accused is yet to be completed and once the maximum period is over, he would be at liberty to pray for his release as per the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Noting that the right to bail was not an absolute right, the court said: “In light of this, the applicant is not entitled to be released on bail on the ground of delayed trial at this stage.”
