The Bombay High Court on Monday granted interim bail for two months to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
A single Bench judge, Justice N.J. Jamadar, pronounced the judgement and said that Mr. Goyal would be released upon the payment of ₹1 lakh with sureties, in accordance with the court orders. He is also directed to stay within the jurisdiction of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai. He is also asked Mr. Goyal to surrender his passport.
Mr. Goyal, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer at the Sir H.N. Reliance Private Hospital, was arrested on September 1, 2023, by the ED in an alleged money laundering case amounting to ₹538.62 crores that was given to Jet Airways by Canara Bank. After he was denied permanent bail by a special PMLA court on April 10, 2024, he approached the Bombay High Court to appeal for bail on medical grounds.
Senior Advocates Harish Salve and Abad Ponda appeared for Mr. Goyal. “Pre-trial arrest even under the PMLA is to assist in the investigation and to prevent the accused from tampering with the evidence. However, it must be balanced with the basic human rights of the accused and cannot be used to inflict a de-facto death penalty on the accused. He is suffering from duodenal cancer, the treatment for which is complicated. Mr. Goyal’s wife, Anita, is in the last stages of terminal cancer. He should be allowed to be with her on humanitarian grounds,” they argued in their plea.
The bail plea also mentioned that the coming few months may be the end of the road for Mr. Goyal and his wife. “In these circumstances, to keep Mr. Goyal in incarceration and limiting his bail to stays in hospital where he cannot be with his wife, is a gross violation of basic human rights. Prisoners of war are not accorded treatment that is so degrading and inhuman. In the twilight of their lives, whilst they both battle life threatening conditions they must be permitted to provide each other succour as the other’s primary caregiver,” the plea said.
Mr. Goyal is the primary caregiver for his ailing wife, and he wants to look for alternative treatments for his illness that cannot be done sitting in a hospital under judicial custody, the plea said. Moreover, after chemotherapy treatment, a clean, sterile, sanitised and hygienic environment was needed, which prison could not provide, read Mr. Goyal’s plea.
The ED in their argument opposed Mr. Goyal’s bail plea, stating he was already hospitalised in a private hospital of his choice. Hearing both the arguments, the Bombay High Court on Monday granted Mr. Goyal bail for two months.
