MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday declined to interfere with a special trial court order passed on August 9 which allowed a CBI plea for production of incarcerated Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor to seek his custodial interrogation in an alleged cheating case related to Avantha Realty.
He is to be produced on Friday from Taloja prison where he is an undertrial in the Yes Bank case following his arrest last March by the Enforcement Directorate.
Before the HC, senior counsel Amit Desai and counsel Pranav Badheka for Kapoor contended before justice Nitin Sambre that before arresting him, requirements of a notice under section 41A of the criminal procedure code (CrPC) must be followed as held by the Supreme Court in the landmark Arnesh Kumar case of 2014.
It entails giving notice to seek a suspect’s appearance and explanation when offence attracts less than 7 years’ imprisonment. They sought orders to direct CBI to comply with section 41A CrPC by quashing the Special court order.
Desai citing a 2010 HC judgement also submitted that the HC has "categorically held that the protection to an accused provided under Section 41-A of Code of Criminal Procedure is extended even to a proceedings for production of prisoner under Section 267 (power to require attendance of prisoners) of the CrPC.
For the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), its counsel Hiten Venegaonkar said It was a premature plea to think that CBI may not comply with section 41A.
He said, on instructions of an officer present in court that appropriate procedure as contemplated in the SC judgment would be adhered to.
Justice Sambre hence said, at this stage no interference is called for and disposed of the matter.
