The special CBI court has granted bail to Kapil Maliram Khandelwal, Joint President, Gitanjali Gems Ltd, one of the 33 accused in the PNB scam.
Special CBI judge Jayendra C Jagdale said in the order: “…The applicant/accused (Khandelwal) was neither aware of the transactions, now was the signatory to the same and moreover, the LOUs & FLCs were made from Prasad Chambers, Opera House Office. At the time of alleged period of issuance of LOUs & FLCs, the applicant/accused was not under the employment of Ws. Gitanjali Gems Ltd.
“The FLCs were signed by accused Aniyath Shivaraman Nair. The applications for fraudulent LOUs & FLCs were being submitted under signatures of accused persons Vipul Chitalia & Aniyath Nair, in the capacity of authorized signatories. In the entire chain of allegations, acts and conducts, there is no whisper of any role attributed to the applicant/accused.”
The judge further added: “The offence of criminal breach of trust u/sec. 409 of Indian Penal Code and cheating u/sec. 420 of Indian Penal Code, are not applicable to the applicant/accused, as there was neither breach on the part of applicant/accused, nor the applicant/accused has signed any document or was part of any alleged transaction… There is no material on record to show that the applicant/accused has conspired with any of the accused person. There is no money trail from or to the applicant/accused.
“The applicant/accused is not in a position to influence any of the witness of prosecution. The entire dispute is based upon documentary evidence and the applicant/accused has given all the details to the prosecution. There was nothing incriminating found from the place of applicant/accused.”
While granting the bail, the court directed Khandelwal to furnish a cash bond of Rs 1 lakh and one or more sureties of the like amount within two months.
“The applicant/accused is directed not to leave India without obtaining prior permission from this Court. Further, till furnishing surety, the applicant/accused is directed to surrender his passport, if any, with CBI. The applicant/accused is further directed not to tamper with the prosecution evidence and to assist in disposal of trial,” the court said.
Read the order here.
—India Legal Bureau