The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to former Managing Director of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar on a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the February 6 verdict of the Bombay High Court, invalidating the arrest of the couple by the agency in connection with the alleged Rs 3,250-crore Videocon loan fraud case.
The order was passed by the Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar.
Appearing for CBI, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju argued that the arrest of the two complied with all legal and procedural requirements.
The Apex Court tagged CBI’s petition against Kochhars with another plea filed by the agency against the bail granted to Videocon Group promoter Venugopal Dhoot in the same case earlier this year.
On February 6, the High Court ruled that CBI acted without due consideration and abused its power in the arrest of Chanda Kochhar and her husband.
It said the investigating agency failed to demonstrate any circumstances or material evidence justifying the decision to arrest, adding that routine arrests without proper reasoning or adherence to the law amount to abuse of power.
The Bench of Justice Anuja Prabhudessai and Justice N R Borkar said that CBI was unable to demonstrate the existence of circumstances or supportive material for the arrest.
It added that in the absence of supportive material, the provision would be reduced to a dead letter and the arrest would be rendered as illegal.
Chanda Kochhar and her husband were taken into custody in December 2022 in connection with the alleged Rs 3,250-crore loan fraud involving Videocon.
CBI filed an FIR in 2019 alleging that the ICICI Bank, under the leadership of Chanda Kochhar, sanctioned Rs 3,250 crore in credit to the Videocon Group, led by Venugopal Dhoot, in violation of banking norms.
Chanda Kochhar and her husband approached the High Court, arguing that their arrest was illegal. In January 2023, the High Court granted them interim bail, instructing them to cooperate with the investigation and appear before the CBI when required.
The national agency defended its actions, claiming that the Kochhars had not cooperated with the investigation and that their arrest was necessary to uncover the extent of the alleged conspiracy and identify other potential co-conspirators.