Jailed Amrapali Group Ex-CMD Gets Interim Bail On Medical Grounds

The Supreme Court on Monday granted interim bail to Anil Kumar Sharma, ex-CMD of Amrapali Group of Companies on medical grounds after he complained of post-surgery complications.

A bench of Justices UU Lalit and Bela M Trivedi granted Sharma interim bail and directed him to surrender in the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate before or at the end of four weeks, and be sent back to jail.

The bench cautioned him against misuse of the liberty and use the four week period to consult doctors and undergo treatment.

At the outset, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Centre, said as per the advice of doctors, he does not require admission in hospital but he is in need of medical care.

Bhati said she is leaving it to the court to grant him interim bail as certain complications have indeed been reported post his surgery as per the discharge summary of the jail dispensary.

The bench after perusing the discharge summary said it is granting him a four-week interim bail subject to the conditions imposed by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.

On August 4, the top court had sought a status report on the medical condition of Sharma, who is lodged in jail here and was seeking interim bail citing his deteriorating health post-surgical intervention.

Advocate Manoj Singh, representing Sharma had said the applicant is suffering from infection and his "condition is deteriorating" with each passing day.

He had urged the top court to grant him interim bail for six to eight weeks keeping in view his medical condition.

On June 9, the Supreme Court had allowed Sharma's surgery to be conducted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for the repair of a "bilateral inguinal hernia" within a week.

The top court, however, had refused to grant him bail for four weeks as sought by his counsel, saying that allegations against Sharma were grave.

Sharma is lodged in Mandoli prison in New Delhi.

On March 21, the top court refused to order the transfer and clubbing of over 80 criminal cases lodged by the home buyers against the directors and other officials of the Amrapali group firms, saying it would "queer the pitch" and make life difficult for a trial judge.

The top court had not agreed to the fervent submission of the counsel for one of the jailed officials of the real estate group that like coal scam cases, the trial in 85 criminal matters, which are of similar nature, can be transferred to one court from seven different courts in the national capital.

The Supreme Court has been monitoring the cases related to the embattled real estate company after many home buyers approached it alleging malpractices and non-delivery of homes or flats.

The Supreme Court, in its July 23, 2019 verdict, had cracked down on errant builders for breaching the trust reposed by the home buyers and ordered the cancellation of registration of the Amrapali Group under real estate law RERA and ousted it from prime properties in the national capital region (NCR) by nixing the land leases.

The top court had directed a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into alleged money laundering by realtors, providing relief to over 42,000 home buyers of the Amrapali Group with the verdict.

Besides ED, the Economic Offence Wing (EoW) of the Delhi Police and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) have also been investigating various cases lodged against the former officials of the real estate group.

The top court, which is trying to bring in funds for the stalled projects, had then directed the state-run NBCC to complete the stalled projects of Amrapali Group.