Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal denied bail on health grounds

A special court in Mumbai on Wednesday denied bail on health grounds to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal in a money-laundering case. The 74-year-old businessman, diagnosed with cancer, was being "better looked after at the hospital" where he is admitted, the court remarked.

Goyal has been undergoing treatment in Mumbai's privately-run Sir H.N. Reliance hospital for two months.

In February, the court had denied interim bail to Goyal, but allowed him to undergo treatment in a hospital of his choice. On Wednesday, special judge for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) M.G. Deshpande rejected his bail plea. The detailed order is yet to be made available.

Goyal was arrested in September 2023 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of siphoning off loans worth Rs 538.62 crore extended to his (now grounded) airline, Jet Airways, by Canara Bank, and laundering the proceedings.

The businessman stated in his bail application that after he was admitted to hospital, he had fever and underwent cystoscopy (used to diagnose, monitor and treat conditions affecting the bladder and urethra). "Goyal has become very weak, immunity has become low and his health condition has become fragile after all his medical afflictions," the application said.

He suffers from numerous life-threatening medical conditions and also has severe mental health issues, it claimed.

The ED opposed his plea, contending that his medical reports nowhere mentioned that Goyal's disease was life-threatening, "which clearly means that though the disease is chronic, it cannot be considered to be non-curable if proper treatment is provided".

The court had already allowed him to avail treatment in a hospital of his choice, and the present application was an attempt to delay the trial proceedings, the Central probe agency claimed.