DHEERAJ WADHAWAN Vs. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner seeks modification of order dated 13 th July 2023 passed by Special Court under PMLA Act, Greater Mumbai in Special Case No.830 of 2021 @ 965/2021. The operative part of order reads as under :

(2.) Learned Senior Advocate Mr.Desai appearing for Petitioner submitted that on account of ill health and ailment suffered by Petitioner he has been permitted to be treated at Leelavati Hospital, Mumbai. He cannot be burdened with charges for deployment of staff of jail, as stipulated in Clause-5 of the impugned order. The assets of Petitioner are frozen and his resources are exhausted It becomes difficult for his wife to pay the said charges. The Petitioner be exempted from payment of such charges. The order of Special Judge indicate that the Jail Superintendent, Taloja Central Prison, is directed to depute 2 or 3 Police Staff as per necessity for continuous vigilance on the Petitioner. However, five personnel are deployed and Petitioner is directed to deposit charges towards it. It is further submitted that as per Clause-6 of the operative part of impugned order, CBI is permitted to depute required staff to keep vigilance on the Petitioner during hospitalization. As per Clause-7, the Petitioner and his relatives are directed to deposit the charges of CBI staff. The presence of police staff in accordance with aforesaid direction would cause difficulty to the family members of Petitioner and for smooth treatment of Petitioner. The Petitioner cannot be directed to pay such charges which is impermissible under law. It is further submitted that in accordance with Clause-9 of the aforesaid order, the Special Court has directed the Doctors, Management of Leelavati Hospital, Police Staff and CBI Staff with accused not to permit any family member to meet the petitioner for more than an hour every day at the time fixed by the Doctors and in the event of breach of said condition the same shall be reported to the Court. On account of nature of ailments suffered by Petitioner, the family members of Petitioner will be required to remain present near Petitioner through out the day. The wife, minor children and mother of Petitioner may be permitted to meet the Petitioner for substantial period of time. Any emergent situation may arise at any point of time and presence of family members of Petitioner would be required near the him for giving consent for treatment/surgery/test etc. to the Petitioner.

(3.) Learned advocate Mr.Chimalkar appearing for CBI submitted that CBI staff is always sitting outside the room and not inside the room where the Petitioner is admitted. CBI never charges any amount for deployment of its staff. Hence there should not be apprehension about payment stipulated in Clause-7 of the order. CBI would deploy one person at a time on shift basis round the clock. It is submitted that Special Court has provided one hour time for the family members to meet the Petitioner, which is sufficient. Hence no relaxation may be granted to the Petitioner in that regard. It is further submitted that on account of past incident as reflected in Clause-6 of the operative order, Petitioner should not be permitted to sign any document other than medical case papers, and he should not be permitted to use mobile phone.