High CourtDivision BenchIA allowed; pending applications disposed of.

Enforcement Directorate Government of India v. Kapil Wadhawan & Anr. Etc.

Case / Petition Number:Interlocutory Application No. 74084 of 2023 in Criminal Appeal Nos. 701-702 of 2020
Neutral Citation:2023 INSC 1090

Case Details & Bench

Court
High Court
Hon'ble Judges
  • K. M. Joseph
  • Hrishikesh Roy
  • B. V. Nagarathna
Judgment Date
2023-04-24
Court Decision / Holding
The Interlocutory Application No. 74084 of 2023 is allowed. Paragraph 51, after correction, reads that the impugned High Court order granting default bail to the respondents under proviso (a)(ii) of Section 167(2) CrPC is in order in terms of the reference and the issues answered by the Court. Any other pending issues arising from these appeals are to be addressed by an appropriate Bench of this Court. Pending application(s), if any, stand disposed of.
Final Disposition
IA allowed; pending applications disposed of.

Parties to the Case

Appellants / Petitioners

  • Enforcement Directorate, Government of India

Respondents

  • Kapil Wadhawan
  • Anr.

Legal Representation & Advocates

Counsels for Petitioners

  • • S. V. Raju
  • • A.S.G.
  • • Mukesh Kumar Maroria
  • • Kanu Agarwal
  • • Rajan Kumar Choursia
  • • Annam Venkatesh
  • • Ms. Sairica Raju
  • • Arkaj Kumar
  • • Zoheb Hussain

Counsels for Respondents

  • • Kapil Sibal
  • • Mukul Rohatgi
  • • Mahesh Agarwal
  • • Ankur Saigal
  • • Rohan Dakshini
  • • Shubham Kulshreshtha
  • • Kaustubh Singh
  • • Kamakshi Sehgal
  • • Pooja Kothari
  • • Urvi Gupte
  • • E. C. Agrawala
  • • Shrirang B. Varma
  • • Siddharth Dharmadhikari
  • • Aaditya Aniruddha Pande
  • • Bharat Bagla
  • • Sourav Singh
  • • Sarad Kumar Singhania
  • • Amit K. Nain

Case Synopsis & Summary

This Supreme Court interlocutory-application matter concerns a request for clarification of the Court’s judgment dated 27 March 2023 in Criminal Appeal Nos. 701–702 of 2020, arising from an ED v. Kapil Wadhawan matter. The applicant sought to specify that Paragraph 51 of the March 27, 2023 judgment was intended to resolve only the issue referred to the larger bench, while several other issues raised in the appeal were to be considered by the appropriate bench and, until then, the High Court’s order granting default bail could not be held to be correct or in order. The Court heard submissions from the ED and the respondents’ counsel, and, after correction, clarified that Paragraph 51 should read that the impugned High Court order granting default bail to the respondents under proviso (a)(ii) of Section 167(2) CrPC is in order in terms of the reference and the issues answered by the Court. It further stated that other pending issues would be addressed by an appropriate bench. The Interlocutory Application No. 74084 of 2023 is allowed, and pending applications are disposed of. The exercise narrows the operative effect of the March 27, 2023 judgment to the referred issue while upholding the High Court’s order on default bail for the time being.

Provisions of Law Cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s. 167(2)Proviso (a)(ii) of Section 167(2) CrPC

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Extracted Judgment Text

Exact text extracted from official judgment records.

**[2023] 16 S.C.R. 1133 : 2023 INSC 1090** ## **CASE DETAILS** ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA v. KAPIL WADHAWAN & ANR. ETC. (Interlocutory Application No. 74084 of 2023) In (Criminal Appeal Nos. 701-702 of 2020) APRIL 24, 2023 ## **[K. M. JOSEPH, HRISHIKESH ROY AND B. V. NAGARATHNA, JJ.]** ## **HEADNOTES** **Issue for consideration:** Matter pertains to application fi led by the appellant seeking clarifi cation of the judgment dated 27.03.2023 passed by this Court in Crl App Nos. 701-702 of 2020, Enforcement Directorate, Government of India v. Kapil Wadhawan & Anr. Etc. **Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s. 167(2) – Judgment/order as regards grant of default bail – Clarifi cation of – Application by the appellant seeking clarifi cation of the judgment dated 27.03.2023 passed by this Court in Crl App Nos. 701-702 of 2020 Enforcement Directorate, Government of India v. Kapil Wadhawan & Anr. Etc.:** **Held:** Paragraph 51 in the Crl App Nos. 701-702 of 2020 pronounced on 27.03.2023 by this Court is clarifi ed, making the corrections as stated therein. [Para 3] **OTHER CASE DETAILS INCLUDING IMPUGNED ORDER AND APPEARANCES** CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Interlocutory Application No.74084 of 2023 in Criminal Appeal Nos.701-702 of 2020. From the Judgment and Order dated 20.08.2020 of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in LD-VC-BA Nos.400 and 401 of 2020. 1133 1134 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2023] 16 S.C.R. ## **Appearances:** S. V. Raju, A.S.G., Mukesh Kumar Maroria, Kanu Agarwal, Rajan Kumar Choursia, Annam Venkatesh, Ms. Sairica Raju, Arkaj Kumar, Zoheb Hussain, Advs. for the Appellant. Kapil Sibal, Mukul Rohatgi, Sr. Advs., Mahesh Agarwal, Ankur Saigal, Rohan Dakshini, Shubham Kulshreshtha, Kaustubh Singh, Ms. Kamakshi Sehgal, Ms. Pooja Kothari, Ms. Urvi Gupte, E. C. Agrawala, Shrirang B. Varma, Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, Bharat Bagla, Sourav Singh, Sarad Kumar Singhania, Amit K. Nain, Advs. for the Respondents. ## **JUDGMENT / ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT** ## **ORDER** 1. This application is filed by the applicant/appellant seeking clarifi cation of the judgment dated 27th March, 2023 passed by this Court. The relief sought in the prayer, _inter alia_ , is as follows:- “(I) Clarify ‘ _Para 51_ ’of the Judgment dated 27.03.2023 passed by this Hon’ble Court to the eff ect that the said judgment is only restricted to answering the issue referred to the larger bench and that several other issues which have been raised in the appeal would have to be considered by the appropriate bench of this Hon’ble Court till which time the impugned order of the High Court granting default bail, cannot be upheld by holding the same to be either correct or found to be in order.” 2. Heard Mr. S. V. Raju, learned Additional Solicitor General appearing on behalf of the applicant/appellant and Mr. Mukul Rohatgi and Mr. Kapil Sibal, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents. 3. The paragraph-51 in the Criminal Appeal Nos.701-702 of 2020 pronounced on 27.03.2023 by this Court following correction, should now read as under:- “51. Following the above discussion and opinion, the impugned order of the High Court granting default bail to the respondents by applying the proviso (a) (ii) of Section 167(2) CrPC is found to be in order in ## ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE GOVERNMENT OF 1135 INDIA v. KAPIL WADHAWAN & ANR. ETC. terms of the reference made before this Court in respect of question referred before this Court and answered by us. Hence, we also uphold the impugned judgment dated 20.08.2020 passed by the learned Single Judge of the Bombay High Court. Any other pending issues arising from these appeals are to be addressed by an appropriate Bench of this Court.” 4. The Interlocutory Application No.74084 of 2023 is allowed. 5. Pending application(s), if any, stand disposed of. **IA allowed.** **Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain**