No interim bail for Shivinder Mohan Singh, Christian Michel, Rana Kapoor

NEW DELHI: Various state governments may have started releasing inmates on bail or parole to decongest jails to prevent the contagion of Covid-19, but some rich and influential economic offenders’ efforts to secure interim bail citing the pandemic have come a cropper.
Former Religare and Fortis promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh, alleged middleman in AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scandal Christian Michel James and Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor have failed to convince the courts to grant them interim bail due to Covid-19 infection risk.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected Singh’s offer to utilise his expertise in health sector to help government deal with the pandemic and Michel’s plea over “low immunity and overcrowding in Tihar jail”. A Mumbai court had on Friday dismissed Kapoor’s interim plea citing “chronic immune deficiency syndrome”.

The developments come even as more than 30,000 convicts and undertrials are being released across the country on special parole and interim bail in accordance with the Supreme Court’s March 16 directions to take steps on an “urgent basis” to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in Indian prisons.

The Supreme Court had directed state governments to constitute “high powered committees” to determine the criteria of release of convicts and undertrials.

Kapoor, Singh and Michel apparently didn’t make the cut.

Singh – booked by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Delhi Police on charges of alleged misappropriation of funds from Religare Finvest and currently lodged in Tihar jail – had moved the Supreme Court on April 3 seeking interim bail citing Covid-19 infection risk. The top court had directed the Delhi High Court to take a call.

Singh, in his bail plea, contended that on coming out he “will be useful to the society and shall duly contribute therein” in the country’s fight against the pandemic.

His counsel submitted that “with the kind of experience the petitioner has in the health sector, particularly, his experience after having worked when the Uttarakhand was flooded”, Singh be given an opportunity to do “community service by grant of interim bail so that his efforts can result in an all India outreach”. He said he can help best utilise the infrastructures available with the government and state-owned companies in the fight against the pandemic after interacting with various ministries and hospitals.

It cut no ice with the court though.

Justice Mukta Gupta, who denied interim bail to Michel, too, pointed out that both the economic offenders do not “qualify” to be considered for bail under the norms decided by a high-powered committee set up by the Delhi government as per the Supreme Court order.

As reported by ET on March 30, the committee had resolved not to grant interim bail to undertrials facing corruption and prevention of money-laundering charges, those being probed by central agencies for antinational activities, foreign nationals, and people facing charges of rape, acid attack and crime against children, even if they have remained in custody for over a month.

In the case of economic offenders, the committee had decided that if the person is allegedly involved in offence punishable with more than seven years of sentence and in more than one case, and that too under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), he/she will not qualify to be released on interim bail.

As reported by ET on March 31, the Delhi high-powered committee had resolved to release convicts on “special” remission in to “further ease out” Delhi jails to minimise chances of the Covid-19 pandemic reaching Indian jails.