Yes Bank-DHFL case: Incarcerated Rana Kapoor's wife & daughters move HC seeking bail

In a key development, Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor's wife Bindu and her daughters Roshni and Radha Kapoor have sought bail from the Bombay High Court. On September 18, a special CBI court rejected their bail pleas in a quid-pro-quo case pertaining to Dewan Housing Financial Limited and sent them to judicial custody till September 23. As per the CBI, Rana Kapoor had entered into a criminal conspiracy with DHFL's Kapil Wadhawan whereby Yes Bank invested Rs.3700 crore in short-term debentures of DHFL from April-June 2018.

The central agency alleged that DHFL paid a kickback of Rs.900 crore to Kapoor in the form of loans to DoIT Urban Ventures, a firm controlled by the Yes Bank co-founder's wife and daughters. Pointing out that they were not arrested during the course of the investigation, the petitioners urged the HC to show leniency as they are women. Informing the court that the ED had already attached their bank accounts and properties worth Rs.600 crore, Kapoor's wife and daughters revealed that they were granted bail in a money laundering case whose facts are identical to the CBI case. 

Moreover, the petitioners insisted that they had been falsely implicated in this case. On the other hand, the CBI opposed an urgent hearing into the matter citing that the accused had been shifted to the Byculla Central Prison in Mumbai. Finally, Justice Bharati Dangre declined to grant any relief and fixed the matter for hearing on September 22.

Earlier, Special  Judge SU Wadgaonkar ruled that the Bindu Kapoor and her daughters Roshni and Radha didn't deserve any sympathy for being women or the mother of small children. He observed, "The accused involved in grave offence affecting the economy of the country and are continuing to reap the benefits of the crime committed by them, do not deserve any indulgence and any sympathy. Thus, there is prima facie evidence against the accused is forthcoming, and the nature and gravity of offences grave and serious. So these factors are sufficient to reject the bail applications of the accused/applicants". 

Rana Kapoor's arrest

Rana Kapoor was arrested by the ED on March 8, 2020, after 30 hours of questioning. The ED has alleged that Kapoor misused his position as the Chief Executive Officer of Yes Bank to benefit his daughters' companies. According to the agency, loans worth Rs.30,000 crore were given by Yes Bank when he was at the helm of affairs. Out of these, advances of Rs. 20,000 crore became NPAs (non-performing assets).

After the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Yes Bank co-founder moved a bail application citing a threat to his life. The plea mentioned that the Yes Bank founder's existing medical conditions such as bronchial asthma, chronic immunodeficiency syndrome, severe hypertension, depression put him at a high risk of a lung infection if he contracted COVID-19 in jail. Additionally, it was argued that Kapoor needed to stay at home and get home-cooked food. But, he continues to languish in jail as this plea and subsequent applications were rejected.