Loan fraud case: Why didn't CBI object to bail to Kochhars, asks SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the CBI over not objecting to repeated extension of the two-week interim bail granted in January this year to former ICICI Bank CEO-cum-MD Chanda Kochhar and her businessman husband Deepak Kochhar in a loan fraud case.

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi asked Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the CBI, as to why the probe agency did not resist repeated extension of interim bail granted to them by the Bombay High Court on January 9.

“This order is of January 9 and interim bail was granted for only two weeks. Why have you not resisted? Why are you permitting it to continue for such a long period? According to us, this plea has become infructuous because the impugned order was for only two weeks. You should have moved an objection there (high court),” the bench said.

Justice Trivedi asked Raju about the next date of hearing in the high court. The lawyer told the judge no fresh date has been announced yet.

“You should have moved the high court,” Justice Trivedi said, following which Raju told him he will request his counterpart in Bombay to approach the high court. 

The bench posted the CBI’s plea challenging the January 9 order of the high court for October 16, and asked Raju to seek instruction on what needs to be done.