Mumbai: Two years have passed since Dheeraj Wadhawan, former promoter of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL), was arrested in connection with the Yes Bank ‘money laundering’ case, but he has spent more time in a luxury hospital than behind bars.
Since his arrest on 26 April 2020, for allegedly getting investments of Rs 3,700 crore from Yes Bank for DHFL in exchange for “substantial undue benefit” to bank CEO Rana Kapoor and his family, Wadhawan has been repeatedly denied bail but spent only about nine months in jail.
For the remaining 15 months or so, he has divided his time between hospitals, citing a succession of ailments. These stays have included a 10-month stint at Mumbai’s plush Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital.
Now, Wadhawan will get to extend his stay a little longer thanks to a Bombay High Court ruling last week about his “right to health”.
In March, a CBI court had ordered that Wadhawan should be shifted out of Kokilaben Hospital, and to Taloja Jail, which led to him petitioning the high court.
Setting aside the CBI court order Friday, the HC ruled that although Wadhawan did not need to be “hospitalised continuously at Kokilaben”, he could undergo a nasal surgery [as advised by an ENT surgeon, according to his lawyers] there.
“[P]ost that he should be taken to J.J. Hospital or KEM Hospital [both government-run] in case of necessity, else he should be taken back to Taloja Jail,” the HC said.
The ruling is a reprieve for…
