Bombay High Court rejects plea by Naresh Goyal challenging his arrest by ED in loan default case

The Bombay High Court Tuesday rejected the plea filed by Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a loan default case.A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse observed that a plea seeking a writ of Habeas Corpus cannot be entertained by the Court in the case."In the present case, it cannot be said that the remand orders are absolutely mechanical or suffer from the vice of lack of jurisdiction, warranting our interference in this writ petition, which seeks a writ of habeas corpus. We are of the view that the petition in the facts, cannot be entertained and dismiss the petition. Needless to state, it is always open for the petitioner to avail of other statutory remedies, as permissible in law to him, vis-a-vis other prayers raised in this petition," the 35-page order stated. .ED registered a case against Goyal based on a first information report (FIR) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which itself was based on a complaint by Canara Bank for an alleged fraud involving ₹7,000 crores.Canara Bank alleged that Goyal along with his wife Anita Goyal and other public officers had cheated, conspired and indulged in a criminal breach of trust against the bank.Their default allegedly caused a wrongful loss of ₹538 crores to the bank, the complaint stated..After Goyal was questioned, he was officially placed under arrest by ED on September 1. He was produced before the special court which remanded him to ED custody till September 14. On September 14, he was remanded to judicial custody..Goyal approached the High Court challenging his arrest on the ground that it was illegal and arbitrary.He also alleged that the orders placing him under ED custody first and judicial custody subsequently were without application of mind.Goyal submitted that ED failed to make out any grounds for arrest and that there could have been no reasonable belief on the part of ED to believe Goyal committed laundering.Goyal also contended that any action taken by Canara Bank pursuant to the master directions of the RBI was stayed by the High Court. Hence no further action can be taken.The former promoter of Jet Airways, therefore, moved the court seeking quashing of the remand orders and his release from judicial custody considering his advanced age..The central agency filed a response opposing the plea. It reasoned that Goyal was arrested on grounds of being uncooperative.ED claimed that this non-cooperation slowed down the pace of the investigation and that proved his malafide intention to defraud banks.The agency also contended that there was neither any non-compliance with statutory provisions nor was the order of remand passed by the special PMLA court without the judicial application of mind.The ED further reasoned that the remand orders were required to be challenged under a statutory provision and not by invoking the extraordinary jurisdiction of the High Court..The Court in its order noted that none of the grounds i.e. non-handing over of a copy of the grounds of arrest, illegality of petitioner’s arrest, non-production before the competent court within 24 hours, were ever raised at the time of the first or second remand of the petitioner. "It is also not in dispute that prior to the filing of the present petition and even post, several orders have been passed by the competent court extending judicial custody of the petitioner from time to time," the Court said. .Senior Advocates Amit Desai and Aabad Ponda along with advocates Karan Kadam briefed by Ameet Naik and Abhishek Kale from Naik Naik & Co. appeared for Goyal.Advocates Hiten Venegaonkar and Ayush Kedia appeared for ED.[Read order]