The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted temporary bail to Jagdish Mookhey (75), an accused in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank fraud case, to undergo a surgery.
Mr. Mookhey was a director and member of the bank’s audit committee from 2005 to 2019. He was arrested on December 3 last year in connection with the fraud.
Fitness report submitted
On May 29, a Bench of Justice Anuja Prabhudessai directed a private clinic in Mulund to submit a fitness report after monitoring Mr. Mookhey for three days.
On Tuesday, a single judge Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre perused the pre-surgery fitness assessment test and parameter monitoring report, and granted him temporary bail for three months to undergo an epigastric hernia surgery. The report said Mr. Mookhey could undergo the surgery but would require time to get fit as he has other medical complications.
Mr. Mookhey approached the High Court after a sessions court rejected his bail plea on May 2. Though he sought bail claiming no role in the fraud, the State opposed his bail on the grounds that his role is yet to be ascertained.
‘Risk posed by COVID-19’
Mr. Mookhey’s advocates, Yusuf Iqbal Yusuf and Zain Shroff, said their client was in and out of hospital during his judicial custody and would prefer to get operated at a private clinic owing to the risk posed by COVID-19.
The advocates said Mr. Mookhey was willing to bear all expenses, including the fee for police escort, if he was granted bail to undergo the surgery.