Bombay HC grants bail to PMC Bank fraud case accused

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted temporary bail of three months to Jagdish Mookhey, an accused in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank fraud case. A sessions court had rejected 75-year-old Mookhey's bail plea last month after the prosecution argued that it had established a prima facie case against him and his co-accused. Mookhey then moved the HC seeking bail on health grounds. His lawyer, Yusuf Iqbal Yusuf, told the HC the accused needs to undergo an "epigastric hernia surgery" and submitted his medical reports following which Justice Bharati Dangre granted bail to Mookhey for three months.

"He has various medical complications, including the said surgery, and a spinal refiguration. The court granted him temporary medical bail for three months after which he will need to surrender again," advocate Yusuf said. "The Mulund police will keep a watch on him for the period that he stays out," he said. Mookhey, a former director of PMC Bank, was arrested by the Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing in December last year for his alleged involvement in the Rs 6,600-crore scam involving illegal credit facilities to the Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd and its group companies.

(Image credits: PTI)