Last Updated: November 09, 2023, 22:32 IST
(*2*)File photograph of diamond service provider Nirav Modi. (Image: News18)
Gokulnath Shetty, a retired PNB officer, and Hemant Bhatt, an authorised signatory of Modi’s firms, have been in judicial custody since 2018 and their bail pleas have been rejected, the court docket stated
A particular court docket for CBI circumstances right here on Thursday separated the trial of two accused in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) rip-off, noting that it was not recognized how lengthy the extradition course of of diamond service provider Nirav Modi, a main accused, would take. Gokulnath Shetty, a retired PNB officer, and Hemant Bhatt, an authorised signatory of Modi’s firms, have been in judicial custody since 2018 and their bail pleas have been rejected, the court docket stated.
“Speedy trial is the right of an accused. An accused cannot keep languishing in jail without trial,” it added. The different accused in the case who had been opposing the plea for separation of trial had been out on bail, the decide famous.
“Though extradition proceeding against Nirav Modi is going on in the UK, nobody knows how much time it will take and its result,” the court docket added. It allowed the functions filed by Shetty and Bhatt and separated their trial from that of the opposite accused.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has alleged that Shetty misused his place and brought about “undue pecuniary advantage” to the accused and losses to the financial institution. Nirav Modi was declared a fugitive financial offender in 2019. He is presently dealing with extradition proceedings whereas being lodged in a jail in the United Kingdom.
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – PTI)
