The brothers are behind bars for the past one-and-a-half years in connection with the Rs 2,654-crore bank fraud case.
The Gujarat High Court granted interim bail for three months to Diamond Power Infrastructure Limited (DPIL) promoters Amit and Sumit Bhatnagar on Tuesday.
The brothers are behind bars for the past one-and-a-half years in connection with the Rs 2,654-crore bank fraud case. But the relief did not come easy for the tainted duo as the court levied strict conditions for providing bail.
The court made them file a declaration that they are surrendering their 66 properties to the court, that they will not try to sell any of these properties, and that they do not have any other property apart from these properties.
According to counsel for the brothers, Virat Popat, the properties are estimated to be worth more than the default amount. But the charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) ascertained the value of
62 of the 66 properties to be around Rs 1,700 crore. The remaining four properties were recently revealed by the duo before the court while seeking bail.
The court also directed them to furnish a bail bond of Rs 2.5 crore and a solvent surety of Rs 50 lakh. The brothers have also been directed not to leave Vadodara.
In a bid to convince the court to consider the bail plea of the brothers, Popat argued that the duo was ready to surrender their property as well as that of their family members before the court.
He also argued that the CBI, which had already filed a charge sheet in the case, kept on seeking the brothers' custody for further investigation.
Counsel for CBI, RC Kodekar, opposed the bail on the grounds that the brothers had committed a serious offence and might tamper with evidence and witnesses if they were released on bail.
Kodekar also argued that since further investigation of the case was under way, the duo should not be released from jail.
Brothers In 'Con'
In March 2018, CBI filed a criminal case against DPIL's Bhatnagar brothers and their father Suresh for fraudulently availing credit facilities from a consortium of 11 banks since 2008, leaving a debt of Rs 2,654 cr as on June 29, 2016. The firm and its directors managed to get loans and credit facilities despite being on RBI's defaulters list and ECGC caution list at the time, the CBI had said.
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