MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Friday granted interim bail to Vipul Chitalia, a co-accused with diamond trader Mehul Choksi in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam. Justice Anuja Prabhudesai of High Court granted the bail to enable him to attend his daughter’s marriage.
The court granted him interim bail from April 6 to 18 and directed him to surrender on the 19th April back to jail.
Gitanjali group's vice president Vipul Chitalia, was arrested in March 2018.
Chitalia’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal strenuously relied cited ancient Indian traditions of marriage to plead for the interim bail. He said it was one of the “biggest responsibilities a father has as a parent in our society” before saying “A father holds his daughter’s hand for a short while, but he holds her heart forever.”
He said Chitalia was the “lone adult member in the nuclear family” and hence “his daughter’s marriage acquired even more importance “. He cited a Bombay HC order which had in a murder case granted bail to a father to attend his daughter’s wedding.
The prosecutor appearing for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opposed bail for more than the day of the marriage.
Aggarwal also highlighted the fact that further investigation in the matter is still pending and there has “been absolutely no progress in the trial since filing of the Chargesheet in May 2018” and that even as per CBIs Chargesheet further investigation in the matter is still pending.
On personal bond for Rs 30,000 and a surety of like amount, the HC granted him interim bail and directed the accused not to leave Mumbai and to report to Borivali police station every alternate day while on interim bail.
The HC will now hear his main bail plea on merits on April 29, 2022.
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