Yes Bank- DHFL Scam : Supreme Court Directs Examination Of Kapil Wadhwan At AIIMS For Consideration Of Bail On Medical Grounds

"We will right away direct that Wadhawan be taken to AIIMS. We will consider granting him bail on medical grounds based on their report. We want to be satisfied that he has a case which requires medical treatment of his choice. We want to see whether that luxury is justified on the basis of the prima facie conclusion of AIIMS."

Justice Joseph also added –

"At AIIMS, we want a multi-disciplinary examination. He will have the best of all these departments."

Senior Advocate, Mukul Rohatgi, appearing on behalf of Wadhawan, informed the Bench that the applicant had a whole host of health issues, including severe obstructive sleep apnoea and a history of heart diseases, and sought his immediate release. Relying on medical reports, including the report prepared by the medical officer at Tihar Jail, Rohatgi said –

"Wadhwan has been in and out of hospitals, both private and government. He has multifarious problems. He has undergone several surgeries. This man has been through so much in the last two years. It was an ordeal. He requires constant medical attention which is not possible in jail. His present condition might be stable but look at his medical history."

The senior counsel argued that the applicant was entitled to decide the hospital where he would receive treatment –

"If his problems are not fake, it cannot be adjudged in an objective fashion that he has to go to one particular hospital. The Supreme Court has taken the view that a person is entitled to be treated at a hospital of his choice."

Additional Solicitor-General, S.V. Raju, appearing on behalf of the appellant Enforcement Directorate that is currently investigating the money laundering aspects of the bank scam, opposed the bail plea and pointed out that the applicant had already spent "considerable time" at a private hospital in Mumbai. However, the Additional Solicitor-General admitted –

"We will not be averse to the applicant being granted medical bail if he deserves it."

Justice Joseph orally pronounced –

"The applicant must be taken immediately [to AIIMS] and examined by doctors of various disciplines on the basis of his medical conditions as mainly revealed by the medical reports. A report shall be sent to this court regarding his medical condition within a week. The Director, AIIMS, New Delhi, shall constitute a team of doctors required to carry on the evaluation. List on next Thursday."

Kapil Wadhawan, along with his brother, Dheeraj Wadhawan, was first arrested in April 2020 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Yes Bank-DHFL financial fraud and has been behind bars since then. The present applicant, Kapil Wadhawan, is currently lodged at Tihar Jail in New Delhi.

Case Title

Enforcement Directorate, Government of India v. Kapil Wadhawan & Anr. [Criminal Appeal No. 701-702/2020]