Court Allows DHFL Scam Accused Dheeraj Wadhawan To Get Home-Cooked Food In Jail

The Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday permitted Dheeraj Wadhawan, former promoter of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) to avail home cooked food for the period of one month while noting his medical issues.

Dheeraj Wadhawan is presently in Judicial custody in connection with an alleged bank fraud of Rs 34,615 crore by DHFL.

The Special Judge Vishal Gogne on Thursday while allowing his plea for home cook food said, Dheeraj Wadhawan is permitted to avail home cooked/arranged food for the period of one month. The said dietary provision shall commence after the appropriate certification and diet plan are respectively provided by the treating doctor and dietician who may have previously treated the applicant at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai and Hinduja Healthcare Hospital, Mumbai.

The judge said, "The court finds no particular vested right either in the prosecuting agency viz the CBI or the custodian authority i.e. the Central Jail to deny a specialised diet to an inmate who is medically advised/entitled to the same. The present applicant/accused is found by the court to be entitled to such a diet."

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal appeared for Dheeraj Wadhawan and submitted that the applicant was suffering from multiple ailments which had occasioned his previous hospitalization in various hospitals.

He submitted that a specialised diet was required to be provided to the applicant, and that such a diet could more appropriately be arranged privately rather than through the jail authorities.

In July month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Rajesh Wadhawan in connection with an alleged bank fraud of Rs 34,615 crore by DHFL.

According to the CBI, the two accused persons are the principal architects of the concerted diversion of loan amounts amounting to about Rs. 29,000 crores (approximately) out of the Non-Performing Assets (NPA) amount of Rs. 34,000 crores (approximately) in relation to the total loans of approximately Rs. 42,000 crores advanced to M/s Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL).

These loans were advanced by the complainant bank i.e. the Union Bank of India and other banks, forming a consortium of 17 Indian banks, to DHFL which is a non-banking finance company engaged in extending financial assistance to low and middle-income group individuals for the acquisition of houses, CBI said.

CBI earlier stated that the independent audit of the funds loaned by the consortium to the DHFL revealed that these funds were instead disbursed by the DHFL to connected entities and individuals with commonalities to DHFL promoters/directors.

According to the CBI, out of 35 such entities, 25 entities had minimal operations and were still disbursed loans by DHFL. Thereafter, 31 more connected entities have purportedly emerged. The sum of Rs 29,000 crores (approximately) has allegedly been together diverted to these 66 entities.

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