Ex-PMC Bank Director granted Bail by High Court to undergo Surgery

In a relief to Jagdish Mookhey, an accused in the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank fraud case, the High Court of Bombay on Tuesday granted him a temporary bail for three months to undergo an epigastric hernia surgery.

The bail was granted after a private clinic in Mulund, where he is likely to undergo the surgery, submitted a Pre-Surgery Fitness Assessment Test & Parameter Monitoring Report, according to which Mookhey suffers from many medical complications which need to be addressed before the operation & hence he was required to be treated for a few weeks. Mookhey approached High Court after his bail was rejected by the Sessions Court on May 2.

A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre, while hearing Jagdish Mookhey’s bail application was informed by his advocates Yusuf Iqbal Yusuf & Zain Shroff that the 75-year-old accused, who was in the PMC Bank’s audit committee, had been in & out of the hospital during his judicial custody since Dec 2019, due to his medical condition. The advocates had sought bail on the grounds that Mookhey needed the surgery, which owing to the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak, he prefers to undergo at a private clinic at Mulund. The Lawyers also submitted that Mookhey was willing to bear all costs, which included police escort fees & treatment cost, if he was permitted to undergo the operation.

On May 29, the bench of justice Anuja Prabhudessai directed the private clinic to submit a fitness report after monitoring Mookhey for three days. The application came up for hearing before the bench of justice Dangre after the clinic submitted the report. After perusing the report, the bench granted Mookhey temporary bail on the condition that he deposits the police escort fees.

Through his Bail application after his arrest on Dec 3, Mookhey pleaded that he didn't have any role in the fraud. The petition was opposed by the state on the grounds that his role was yet to be ascertained. Mookhey then filed for bail on medical grounds.

Who is Jagdish Mookhey?

Jagdish Mookhey was on the audit committee of the bank from 2005 to 2019.

On Dec 3, Mookhey, along with two other directors – Dr Trupti Bane & Mukti Bavisi – were arrested for their alleged involvement in the ₹6,670 crore.

Bane was in the recovery committee from 2010 to 2015, & the loans & advances committee from 2015 to 2019, while Bavisi was a part of the loans & advances committee from 2011 to Sept 2019.

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