Spl court grants bail to ex-MD of PMC Bank

Mumbai: A special court on Monday granted bail to the 67-year-old former MD of the scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, Joy Thomas, on the grounds of his long incarceration of five years. Thomas was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing in the Rs 4,335 crore cheating case in 2019. The judge also cited grounds of parity as co-accused and the bank's former chairman, Waryam Singh. The judge noted that in granting bail to Singh, the Bombay high court had specifically concluded that there is no progress in the trial. "There is no possibility that in the near future, the trial will conclude, and therefore, the applicant cannot be indefinitely incarcerated as and by way of pre-trial punishment," special judge AC Daga said.Seeking bail, Thomas' lawyer, Hasnain Kazi, submitted that he has been in custody for more than five years and the charges have not even been framed. Kazi further submitted that out of 44 accused, 43 have been released on bail. Kazi also argued that Thomas was not arrested in the related money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate. In the 14-page order, the judge said that Thomas was a permanent resident of Thane and had no criminal antecedents on record. "The apprehension of the applicant being a flight risk or tampering with witnesses can be taken care of by imposing stringent conditions," the judge said. Among the several conditions, the judge stated that he was not to leave the country without the court's prior permission.