Accused can't claim luxury under garb of hospitalisation, says PMLA court, junks bizman plea

Mumbai, Jul 23 (PTI) Luxury under the garb of hospitalisation cannot be given to an accused, observed a special court in Mumbai while rejecting a plea of an 80-year-old businessman arrested in a money laundering case.

The court made the observation on Monday while rejecting the plea of the accused, Manoharlal Agicha, chairman of Associate High Pressure Technologies Pvt Ltd (AHPTPL), seeking extension of his hospital stay.

The octogenarian businessman was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in November 2023 for allegedly causing wrongful loss to the tune of Rs 149.89 crore to a bank.

As per an order of the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court, Agicha, while in judicial custody, was admitted to a hospital in Bandra in March 2024 for treatment for 15 days.

Since then, the order had been extended multiple times and he continued to be hospitalised. Recently, Agicha moved a plea for extension of his stay in the hospital for a few more months to undergo further treatment.

However, special PMLA court judge A C Daga rejected his plea and directed Arthur Road jail authorities to take the accused back to the prison in central Mumbai.

The court stated that a report submitted by the hospital shows it has not yet made a decision for surgery because the patient wants a few more weeks of medical management.

This itself goes to show there was no urgency for the surgery of the applicant, the judge noted.

He maintained that in spite of his earlier order, doctors have not taken any decision as to what procedure has to be followed for Agicha's treatment.

"So far as providing medicines is concerned, that can be done in the jail itself by authorities. Luxury under the garb of hospitalisation cannot be given to the accused," the court observed. PTI AVI RSY