J-K Bank fraud case accused seeks bail citing coronavirus outbreak, HC denies relief

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday rejected the bail application of Hilal Rather, the son of former state minister Abdul Rahim Rather, in a bank fraud case.

Rather had moved the plea before Justice Puneet Gupta seeking interim bail on grounds that the Supreme Court had asked for decongestion of jails across the country in view of the COVID-19 outbreak. He also claimed that he has been suffering several ailments.

On behalf of the CBI, senior advocate Monika Kohli contended before the court that there was no medical report from the jail authorities to substantiate the claims of the accused that he was facing any medical condition. Objecting to the plea of the accused, Kohli also contended that his release would be detrimental to the ongoing probe in the case as he could tamper with the witness.

Justice Gupta told the lawyer of the accused that the application for interim bail has been rejected. Rather was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Jammu and Kashmir in January in connection with the alleged bank fraud of Rs 177 core. The case was handed over to the CBI later.

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