Court Allows Former DHFL Promoter Dheeraj Wadhawan Home-Cooked Meals in Jail

7 April 2024

New Delhi [India]. September 1st : The Rouse Avenue Court granted permission to Dheeraj Wadhawan, the erstwhile promoter of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL), to have home-cooked meals for one month due to his documented medical conditions.

Stock Image of Dheeraj Wadhan coming out of the courthouse

Currently, Wadhawan is being held in Judicial custody for his suspected involvement in a bank scam of Rs 34,615 crore by DHFL.

The Special Judge Vishal Gogne granted Wadhawan’s request to have home-cooked food, enabling him to have food prepared at home or arranged for him for a duration of one month.

The implementation of the dietary provision will begin once the treating doctor and dietician, who may have previously treated the applicant at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Hinduja Healthcare Hospital in Mumbai, give the necessary certification and diet plan.

The judge stated that neither the prosecution agency, the CBI, nor the custodian authority, the Central Jail, have any specific legal jurisdiction to refuse a specialized diet to an inmate who has a medical recommendation or entitlement for it.

The court has determined that the current applicant/accused is eligible for such a diet.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal represented Dheeraj Wadhawan and argued that the applicant had many illnesses that had caused him to be hospitalized in different hospitals in the past.

The individual argued that the applicant needed a specific diet, which would be better organized privately rather than through the prison officials.

In July, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) apprehended Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Rajesh Wadhawan for their involvement in an alleged bank fraud of Rs 34,615 crore by DHFL.

As per the CBI, the two accused individuals are primarily responsible for intentionally redirecting loan funds totaling around Rs. 29,000 crores from the non-performing loan amount of approximately Rs. 34,000 crores, which was part of the total loans of approximately Rs. 42,000 crores given to M/s Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL).

CBI tightens noose Around DHFL promoters

The Union Bank of India and other banks, comprising a consortium of 17 Indian banks, provided loans to DHFL, a non-banking finance company that offers financial assistance to individuals in the low and middle-income groups for purchasing houses, according to the CBI.

The CBI previously reported that the independent audit of the monies provided by the consortium to the DHFL found that instead of being used as intended, these funds were actually distributed by the DHFL to affiliated organizations and persons who had connections to DHFL promoters and directors.

As to the CBI, 25 out of 35 firms had negligible operations but yet received loans from DHFL.

Subsequently, an additional 31 interconnected organizations have allegedly surfaced.

An estimated amount of Rs 29,000 crores has reportedly been routed to these 66 organizations.

(The headline and the story has not been edited by THND staff and is published from a syndicated feed. However there can be minor changes from the original source article.)

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