Declining to grant any interim bail to stockbroker Ketan Parekh in the Rs 120 crore (Rs 1.20 billion) Calcutta Stock Exchange payment scam, the Supreme Court on Monday adjourned hearing on his bail plea till April 14.
A Bench comprising Justice M B Shah and Justice Arun Kumar adjourned the hearing on Parekh's plea after Additional Solicitor General Altaf Ahmed, appearing for Kolkata police, submitted that the 90-day statutory custody period would come to an end on April 20.
After the expiry of the statutory 90-day custody period, if no chargesheet was filed by the police, the accused would be entitled to bail.
Appearing for Parekh, senior advocate Ram Jethmalani submitted that his client had committed no offence and had made all his payments to the stockbrokers at Calcutta Stock Exchange through account payee cheques amounting to over Rs 3,100 crore (Rs 31 billion).
Citing the remand application filed by Kolkata police in which they had said that Parekh had made all the payments, the counsel submitted that if that was so where was the question of the stockbroker committing any offence.
Parekh, who is in custody for last 64 days on allegation of his involvement in the Rs 120 crore payment crisis at Calcutta Stock Exchange in March, 2001, was arrested on January 20 after he surrendered before a Kolkata court.
He had appealed against the February 13 order of the Calcutta High Court rejecting his bail application.