Money laundering case: HC extends Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal's interim bail by 4 weeks
Mumbai, Jul 5: The Bombay High Court on Friday extended by four weeks the interim bail on medical grounds granted to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, accused in a money laundering case.
On May 6, the high court had granted interim bail for two months on medical grounds to Goyal, arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
75-year-old Goyal has now filed an application seeking extension of the same.
Goyal, who is suffering from cancer, had submitted to the high court that he has to undergo a preliminary laparoscopic surgery.
His counsel Aabad Ponda told a single bench of Justice N J Jamadar that the surgery is scheduled on July 23.
The bench took note of this and extended the interim bail for four weeks.
"Having perused the medical reports and the situation in which the applicant finds himself, in the backdrop of the physical and psychological ailments, aggravated on account of the demise of his wife, I deem it appropriate to extend the interim bail on medical ground by a period of four weeks," the HC said.
It would hear Goyal's plea for bail both on merits and medical grounds on August 2.
Earlier this week, the ED told the court that bail could be extended by three weeks provided Goyal gets himself medically examined at the Tata cancer hospital and a proper medical report is submitted on his health condition.
Goyal in his application seeking extension of the interim bail said his health condition continues to remain poor and that his mental health had also deteriorated.
Goyal was arrested by the central agency in September 2023 on the allegations that he had laundered money and siphoned off loans to the tune of Rs 538.62 crore given to Jet Airways by Canara Bank.
His wife, Anita Goyal, was arrested in November 2023 when the ED submitted its chargesheet in the case. She was granted bail by the special court the same day considering her age and medical condition. She died on May 16.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
