Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal charged with alleged Rs 538 crore fraud Canara Bankpleaded before a special court in Mumbai on Saturday, with « folded hands », that he « had lost all hope of life » and that it would be « better for him to die in prison » than to live in his current state.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested the Jet Airways founder in September 2023 in connection with an alleged bank fraud worth Rs 538 crore. Goyal is currently in judicial custody at Arthur Road jail in Mumbai.
Naresh Goyal filed a bail application before special judge MG Deshpande and was produced before the court on Saturday. During the proceedings, Goyal requested a few minutes of personal audience, which was granted by the judge.
Goyal, with his hands folded and « continuous tremors throughout his body », said that « his health is very bad and precarious ». He also claimed that his wife Anita was bedridden and their only daughter was also not feeling well. He added that his wife Anita is in an advanced stage of cancer and is undergoing treatment.
The businessman further pointed out that prison staff also have their limitations in helping him. He also pointed to his knees and said they were swollen and painful, while adding that he was unable to bend his legs. « I listened to him patiently and also observed him while he presented his arguments. I noticed that his whole body was trembling. He needs help even to stand, » the judge noted.
The septuagenarian businessman, whose health is deteriorating, asked not to be sent to JJ hospital and to « let him die in the prison itself », describing the trip and the aftermath as painful.
Goyal said « he has lost all hope of living and (it is) better that he dies rather than being alive in such a situation », news agency PTI reported quoting the court’s roznama or the report of the daily hearings.
Besides, there is always a long queue of patients and he cannot reach the doctor on time and whenever he is examined by the doctor, further follow-up is not possible, Goyal said. The septuagenarian businessman also claims that his state of health does not allow him to appear in court in person.
He also said that this time he insisted on a physical appearance so that he could present everything personally. He said he would no longer emphasize physical appearance.
“I took note of everything he presented and also assured the accused that he would not be left defenseless and that all possible care for his mental and physical health would be taken care of with appropriate treatment,” the judge said. The special court has directed Naresh Goyal’s lawyers to take appropriate action regarding his health.
In his bail application filed in December last year, Goyal said he was suffering from several health problems, including heart, prostate and orthopedic problems. He also said there were reasonable grounds to believe “he was not guilty.”
Goyal’s bail application is pending before special judge MG Deshpande, with the next hearing scheduled for January 16. The ED case against Goyal, his wife and some former Jet Airways executives is based on a CBI FIR alleging fraud of Rs 538 crore at Canara Bank. .
