Gujarat HC asks Ketan Desai's wife to file bail plea in lower court

The Gujarat high court today asked wife of former president of Medical Council of India (MCI) Ketan Desai, who had filed for anticipatory bail here, to approach the special CBI court for the purpose.

Alka Desai had sought transit anticipatory bail as her name appears in the case filed by CBI against Desai, for having disproportionate assets.

When the matter came up for hearing before justice Z K Saiyed, CBI laywer Y R Ravani submitted that Alka had not approached the lower court and had directly come with the anticipatory bail plea to the high court.

Hence, she first needs to file bail plea in CBI sessions court, Ravani contended.

The court agreed to this argument, following which Alka Desai's anticipatory bail application was withdrawn by her lawyer so that they could approach the lower court first.

CBI had registered a disproportionate assets case against ex-MCI chief Ketan Desai, his wife and mother in May for having assets worth over Rs 24 crore, more than the known sources of their income.

Alka, in her application has claimed that the CBI had arrested her husband in a second case as soon as he was granted bail by Delhi court.

She has further claimed that her mother was not well and was admitted in intensive care unit of a private hospital.

Also, her son is in class 12, and in case she is arrested, both her mother and son would be affected, Alka had said.

Hence, she should be protected from arrest by CBI till she obtains regular anticipatory bail from Delhi court.

The former MCI president was arrested on April 22 by CBI along with three others for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs two crore to give permission to Gyan Sagar Medical College in Patiala to recruit a fresh batch of students.

The four accused were booked by CBI under various provisions of Prevention of Corruption of Act, dealing with inducing a public servant to accept bribe, criminal misconduct and payment of money.

Subsequent searches at various premises of Desai is alleged to have revealed huge amounts of cash, investments and gold, all worth several crores of rupees.

Before becoming the president of the MCI, Desai worked as a professor at BJ Medical college here and was later elevated to the post of head of the department of Urology.