Former ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar, her husband get bail. All you want to know

Former ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar and her businessman husband Deepak Kochhar were on Monday granted bail by the Bombay High Court, which termed their recent arrest as illegal. 

The release was granted on a cash bail of Rs. 1 lakh each.

What did the court say?

"We have held that the petitioners' (Kochhars) arrest was not in accordance with provisions of law and this warrants their release," the high court said. The court also asked Kochhars to surrender their passports to the CBI.

The bench said the duo will have to cooperate with the probe and attend the CBI office as and when summoned. 

When were the Kochhars arrested?

The Kochhars were arrested along with Videocon founder Venugopal Dhoot in late December for their alleged roles in the case of fraud.

What have the husband-wife duo said in their defence?

The Kochhar couple has termed their arrest as "illegal" on the ground that no sanction was obtained prior to the CBI action as required under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Arguing on behalf of Chanda Kochhar, senior advocate Amit Desai, along with lawyer Kushal Mor, submitted that she was arrested after a “perfunctory interrogation.”

He had argued that Chanda Kochhar didn't know what was happening with her husband's business. Desai further said a male officer arrested the former ICICI Bank chief and the relevant memo doesn't show the presence of a lady officer as required under the law.

What is the background to the case?

The CBI has named Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar as well as Venugopal Dhoot along with Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Ltd as accused in the FIR registered in 2019 under Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the PCA.

The central agency has alleged private sector lender ICICI Bank sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to these companies in violation of norms.

It further alleged that as a part of quid pro quo, Dhoot made an investment of Rs 64 crore in Nupower Renewables through Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL), and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar through a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012.