The Delhi High Court has ordered Punjab National Bank (PNB) scandal suspect Mehul Choksi to deposit Rs 2 lakh before hearing his appeal against a Netflix docuseries. Choksi has filed an appeal against a single-judge judgement that dismissed his case against the “Bad Boy Billionaires.”
The bench of Justices Vibhu Bakhru and Amit Mahajan noted that Choksi is neither an Indian citizen nor a resident of India, and that he is the subject of various legal procedures in the nation. It stated that if he loses his appeal and whatever cost imposed against him, there will be no means to reclaim the cash.
“It is pointed out that the appellant is neither a citizen of India nor a resident of India. In addition, it is also submitted that there are several other proceedings pending against the appellant, including for payment of dues, which have not been discharged,” the bench said.
Choksi, who was represented by advocate Vijay Aggarwal, stated in his appeal was just the case to be remanded to the single judge who dismissed his plea.
On August 28, 2020, the judge refused Choksi relief, stating that a writ petition for enforcement of a private right was not maintainable. The judge stated that his remedy lay in a civil suit and allowed him to take the issue there.
Choksi previously claimed that there was a two-minute segment about him in the series that purportedly portrayed him negatively and, as a result, could impact the different procedures against him in India. Netflix argued that the plea was unmaintainable since the Supreme Court has previously ruled that over-the-top (OTT) services cannot be controlled, and that the only option was to initiate a civil suit.
Choksi, the owner of Gitanjali Gems, and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of committing a Rs 13,500-crore scam on PNB. In 2019, he left the nation and got citizenship in Antigua & Barbuda. The film was released in October 2020.
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