The Bombay High Court granted permanent medical bail to Naresh Goyal, the 75-year-old founder of Jet Airways, who was arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in September 2023. Justice NJ Jamadar’s bench had initially approved interim medical bail on May 6 for Goyal’s cancer treatment, which was subsequently extended multiple times before being made permanent on Monday.
Jet Airways Founder Naresh Goyal gets bail for cancer treatment
The development comes in the wake of personal tragedy for Goyal, whose wife Anita passed away on May 16 this year following a battle with terminal cancer.
His legal team, comprising lawyers Aabad Ponda and Ameet Naik, emphasized the urgency of Goyal’s own medical treatment in their application.
Why Naresh Goyal was arrested?
The case against Goyal centres on allegations of misappropriating loans worth Rs 538.62 crore from Canara Bank that were sanctioned to Jet Airways. The ED’s November 2023 chargesheet accused Goyal of using his wife Anita and son Nivaan Goyal to divert these funds.
Anita Goyal, who was arrested by the ED in November 2023, had received bail earlier due to her age and medical condition. Naresh Goyal was last seen in public exercising his voting rights during the Lok Sabha election on May 20.
The case highlights the downfall of one of India’s pioneering aviation entrepreneurs, whose airline once dominated the country’s skies before ceasing operations in 2019. The investigation continues to probe the alleged financial irregularities that led to the airline’s collapse and subsequent legal proceedings against its founder.
