The Bombay High Court on Friday asked Maiank Mehta, brother-in-law of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, to appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for an investigation from August 1 to 3.
Justice PD Naik asked Mehta to appear on three days while hearing an appeal filed by the CBI against the order of the special court trying cases registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) allowing Mehta to travel back to his residence in Hong Kong (HK).
The special PMLA court had permitted him to travel to Hong Kong for three months to complete personal work as he had been in India since September 2021.
Mehta is a British citizen and lives in HK. His wife, Purvi, a Belgian citizen, has not come to India. However, she and Mehta were made approvers by the ED after they agreed to provide information they had regarding Modi. The special court has, thereby, granted them pardon.
CBI had filed another plea before a division bench of the HC challenging Mehta's plea seeking an extension of pardon to him in the CBI case as well. A division bench headed by Justice Revati Mohite-Dere, on July 25, refused to grant urgent permission to Mehta to travel to Hong Kong but asked the CBI to expedite the investigation.
Raja Thakare, counsel for the CBI, argued that the investigating agency has always looked at Mehta as an accused. Unless the investigation is completed, the CBI cannot make a statement on whether he will be made an approver in the case.
At the conclusion of the CBI probe, Thakare pointed out three possibilities. "We (CBI) do not find any material against him and discharge him from the case. Or he can be made an approver. The third possibility is that he is prosecuted as an accused," said Thakare.
The CBI counsel reiterated their apprehension of Mehta never returning to India after leaving the country, just like Modi. "In present application, our apprehension is that if he leaves the country, then it will be extremely difficult to get him back. The main accused is Nirav Modi, and we have not been able to extradite him in all these years."
On a court query that the ED did not have apprehension of Mehta absconding, Thakare said that since Mehta is an approver in it case, he can always depose before the trial court through video conference.
Mehta's counsel, Amit Desai, contended that they learnt about him being an accused in the CBI case only after they approached the PMLA court seeking permission to travel to HK. He contended that Mehta is willing to cooperate and give an undertaking that he will return to India after three months.
Justice Naik noted that the division bench had protected Mehta from coercive action and refused permission to travel till the next hearing. "There should not be conflicting order from this court,” said Justice Naik.
The HC had also asked the CBI to add ED as a respondent on the petition and kept the material for hearing on August 4.
