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Court was hearing an appeal filed by Choksi against a single judge bench order dismissing his plea seeking a preview of the series- Bad Boy Billionaires, apprehending that it would infringe his right to fair investigation and trial
The Delhi High Court has directed fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, an accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, to deposit Rs 2 lakh with the court before proceeding further with his appeal challenging the dismissal of his plea to pre-screen the Netflix docuseries 'Bad Boy Billionaires'.
The division bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Amit Mahajan said, “This court considers it apposite to direct, before this proceedings are taken, the appellant (Choksi) to deposit a sum of ₹2,00,000/- within a period of one week from today with the registry of this Court to secure the costs of the present proceeding”.
Accordingly, the court listed the matter for further hearing on August 8.
The court was hearing an appeal filed by Choksi against a single-judge bench order dismissing his plea seeking a preview of the series- Bad Boy Billionaires, apprehending that it would infringe his right to fair investigation and trial.
Court noted that Choksi is neither a citizen of India nor a resident of India. Court was apprised that several other proceedings are pending against him, including payment of dues that have not been discharged.
“This Court is of the view that, in the event, the appellant does not prevail in the present appeal and costs are awarded to the respondent, there perhaps would be no method of recovering”, the court said in its order dated July 24.
It is to be noted that on November 7, 2020, a division bench of the High Court had sought responses from the Centre and Netflix on the appeal challenging the single judge bench’s order.
Notably, on August 28, 2020, Justice Navin Chawla had denied relief to Choksi and said that the writ petition for enforcement of a private right was not maintainable. The judge had also said that his remedy lay in a civil suit and granted him the liberty to raise the issue therein.
Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali Gems, and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. Bad Boy Billionaires, released in India on September 2, 2020, is described on Netflix as: “This investigative docuseries explores the greed, fraud, and corruption that built up – and ultimately brought down – India’s most infamous tycoons”.
Case Title: Mehul Choksi v. Union of India & Ors.
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