A Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Tuesday rejected the bail petition of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) promoter Rakesh Wadhawan in the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank scam case. Wadhawan, an accused in the Rs 4,335 crore scam, had earlier asked for bail claiming he had not violated any banking regulations.

He had also asked the court to listen to his plea as he was recently tested positive for coronavirus inside the jail. The bail petition was struck down by Special Judge Prashant P Rajvaidya, news agency PTI reported.

HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan, his son Sarang and others are accused in the Rs 4,355 crore PMC Bank scam which surfaced in September last year. The case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, along with the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai police. The case stems from massive loans given by PMC Bank to the now bankrupt HDIL.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently extended its restriction on the crisis-hit PMC Bank for another six months. The central bank also enhanced the withdrawal limit for the bank's depositors to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 earlier. In March, the RBI had extended the regulatory restrictions on PMC Bank by another three months till June 22, 2020. With the relaxation in withdrawal limit, more than 84 per cent of the PMC Bank's depositors will be able to withdraw their entire account balance.