Dheeraj Wadhawan’s Bail Cancelled by Supreme Court in DHFL’s Rs34,926 Crore Bank Fraud

Moneylife Digital Team 05 August 2025

Economy & Nation

The Supreme Court on Tuesday cancelled the bail granted to Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL)'s former promoter Dheeraj Wadhawan in the alleged Rs34,926 crore bank loan fraud case and directed him to surrender within two weeks.

A bench comprising justice Sanjay Kumar and justice Satish Chandra Sharma passed the order after examining a fresh medical report submitted by a Mumbai-based government medical board. The panel had been constituted under a previous order of the apex court to verify Mr Wadhawan’s current health condition.

Mr Wadhawan had earlier been granted bail by the Delhi High Court on 9 September 2024, on medical grounds. The High Court, citing his deteriorating health and prolonged judicial custody of over 15 months, had noted that the accused fell within the legal parameters of a 'sick person'.

The Supreme Court’s order came in response to a special leave petition filed by central bureau of investigation (CBI) which challenged the Delhi High Court's decision. The apex court had, in May this year, ordered a fresh medical evaluation, expressing the need to ascertain whether Wadhawan’s condition warranted continued bail.

The Court had instructed Mr Wadhawan to appear before the medical board at Mumbai's Grant Government Medical College and Sir JJ group of Hospitals on 18 June 2025 at 11am and had asked for the report to be filed in a sealed cover by 29 July 2025. The findings of the panel led the court to revoke his bail on Tuesday.

Dheeraj Wadhawan had cited a number of chronic health conditions, including ischemic heart disease, chronic kidney disease, hypertension and sleep apnea, as grounds for bail. However, the Supreme Court found insufficient cause to maintain the relief previously granted.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had accepted his plea on the basis that the trial in the massive bank fraud case, where more than 100 individuals are accused and over 600 witnesses have been cited, was unlikely to conclude anytime soon. The Court had also imposed strict conditions, including the surrender of Mr Wadhawan’s passport and a prohibition on overseas travel or any criminal activity.

In a related development just a day earlier, the Delhi High Court had refused bail to DHFL's erstwhile chairman and managing director (CMD) Kapil Wadhawan in the same case, observing that his conduct in custody was not 'beyond reproach' and stressing that such economic offences strike at the core of the country’s financial infrastructure.

Dheeraj Wadhawan, alongside his brother Kapil, stands accused of orchestrating one of the country’s largest financial frauds involving DHFL. CBI has alleged that as promoter and director of DHFL, Dheeraj Wadhawan was the key conspirator in siphoning off and misappropriating nearly Rs34,926 crore from a consortium of 17 banks led by Union Bank of India.

The complaint alleged that the accused induced the consortium banks to sanction loans aggregating to Rs42,871.42 crore. Much of this amount was allegedly siphoned off and misappropriated by the alleged falsification of books of DHFL. Also alleged was dishonest default in repayment of the legitimate dues of the said consortium banks.

It was further alleged that a wrongful loss of Rs34,615.00 crore was caused to the consortium banks between January 2010 and December 2019.

You may want to read our coverage of the DHFL issue here...

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