Bank fraud: SC refuses interim bail to Amtek Group ex-chairperson

New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant interim bail to former Amtek Group chairperson Arvind Dham in an alleged money laundering case stemming from a Rs 2,700-crore bank fraud.

A bench comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and Prasanna B Varale said a three-judge bench headed by the then Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna on April 7 had already refused to grant bail to Dham, directing him to surrender in jail.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Dham, said his client had been in jail for 11 months and his regular bail plea was pending in the Delhi High Court since February 2025.

“We aren’t at all impressed by the tactics of the petitioner. Your SLP (special leave petition) was dismissed by a three-judge bench of this court. Now you are trying to get in during this vacation and trying to get the same relief in a matter which has already been dismissed,” the bench said.

Rohatgi then withdrew the plea.

The bench was ticked off to see Rohatgi, a senior counsel, appearing in court during the summer break.

“We don’t understand the appearance of senior counsel in vacations. This court has often commented on that,” the bench said.

Previously too, several benches have asked senior lawyers to refrain from appearing in the top court during vacations and instead allow their junior colleagues to appear and learn the court craft.

On April 7, the top court directed Dham to surrender in jail the next day morning.

The bench was irked over his plea, which sought the extension of time to surrender or grant of an interim bail to enable Dham to undergo an angiography test for his alleged heart condition.

Observing Dham had undergone an angiography test recently, the bench asked, "How many times does he have to undergo the angiography test?" It added, “This is not done… We will not become a party to all this. You surrender. If needed you can go for the test in custody." Dham, the CJI said, if advised for any surgical procedure after the angiography test then he can move court for interim bail.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who had then represented Dham, said the trial in the money laundering case of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) involving his client should be halted to enable him the medical treatment.

The Delhi High Court had extended his interim bail on medical grounds till April 7.

Fresh assets worth over Rs 550 crore of Amtek Group firms, an insolvent automotive equipment manufacturing company, were provisionally attached recently by the ED under the anti-money-laundering law in the alleged Rs 2,700 crore bank loan fraud case.

Action was taken against Amtek Auto Limited, ARG Limited, ACIL limited, Metalyst Forging Limited, Castex Technologies Limited and Amtek Group promoter Arvind Dham, apart from some others, the ED said in a statement.

Properties worth Rs 5,115.31 crore were attached by the agency in the case September last.

The ED started its probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the directions given by the Supreme Court on February 27, 2024.

The ED arrested Dham in July last year and chargesheeted him in September later.

The probe found that the above-mentioned companies, along with other group concerns, were taken to insolvency, whose resolution led to a haircut of more than 80 per cent for the banks, causing "substantial" losses to these public sector financial institutions.

The financial statements of group companies were "deceitfully manipulated" to obtain additional fraudulent loans and create bogus assets and investments in books of accounts, the agency alleged.

The provisionally-attached assets include 145 acre of land in Rajasthan and Punjab; some properties in Delhi-NCR valued in total at Rs 342 crore, apart from fixed deposits and bank balances worth Rs 112.5 crore.

All the Amtek assets are identified as "direct proceeds of crime" and are held through several companies beneficially owned by Dham and assets of Amtek companies held by bankers who sanctioned the loans, according to the ED. PTI SJK SJK AMK AMK