The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday rejected the bail application of Hilal Rather, son of National Conference leader Abdul Rahim Rather in the Jammu and Kashmir Bank fraud case.
Rather moved the High Court seeking interim bail on the pretext of spread of COVID 19 and the Supreme Court’s order directing interim bail to prisoners for decongesting jails in India amid COVID 19 Pandemic. The accused also pleaded that he has been suffering from various ailments.
The single Judge bench of the High Court presided by Justice Puneet Gupta rejecting the bail observed that the accused was facing serious charges and “bail cannot be granted on mere asking of the accused nor can it be claimed as a matter of right.”
Advocate Monika Kohli, appearing for the CBI submitted that there were no medical reports from the jail authorities to support the accused case that he was suffering from any medical condition. Moreover, the release of the accused would result in tampering of evidences and prove to be detrimental to the ongoing probe.
Hilal Rather has been accused of entering into a criminal conspiracy with the then officials of the Bank of Jammu and Kashmir to get loans of Rs 177 Crore in violation of rules and guidelines.
-India Legal Bureau