The Supreme Court has granted bail to Ramchand Karunakaran, former Managing Director of IL&FS Transportation Network, taking into account his advanced age and the fact that he had already spent three years in custody.
The Bench of Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat observed that some of the accused were yet to be arrested in the case and being a senior citizen, the accused was entitled to bail.
It directed the accused to be produced before a trial court within the next three days for bail conditions, besides ordering Karunakaran to mark his presence at the police station every second and fourth Monday of the month.
He was further directed not to influence the witnesses or tamper with evidences, besides attending the trial, as and when required.
Karunakaran was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on June 19, 2019, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In October last year, the Bombay High Court had rejected the bail application of Karunakaran.
It was alleged that loans were sanctioned illegally to other companies to repay the loans of IL&FS, while the accused received high salaries, leading to siphoning off of Rs 2,270 crore.
Case title: Ramchand Karunakaran vs ED