‘Obesity root cause of all diseases’: HC grants bail to man weighing 153 kg

CHANDIGARH: : The obesity of a money-laundering accused weighed so heavy on the high court’s mind that it has granted bail to a 38-year-old man, who weighed 153 kg.

“Obesity, as in the case of the petitioner, who weighs 153 kg is not just a symptom but is itself a disease which becomes the root-cause of several other diseases. With such comorbidities, the response, resistance, resilience and the capacity of the body to fight ailments and recuperate efficaciously, decreases substantially,” the Punjab and Haryana High Court bench said allowing bail plea of one Pranjil Batra, who is lodged for nearly eight months in the Ambala jail.

Initially a witness, he was roped in as an accused in January 2021 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a Ponzi scheme fraud case worth Rs 3,000 crore running in different states in which 33 lakh persons allegedly have been cheated.

As per the ED, he got benefits of Rs 53 crore in the scam. The accused had claimed to be a software developer and termed these payments as professional fee paid to him by the companies. However, during probe it came to light that he had transferred Rs 15 crore to various family members but failed to give satisfactory answers about income tax returns of the amount.

Arrested in March, he had approached high court seeking bail on June 2 arguing that he was merely an employee and not involved in the scam. He himself also had specifically made obesity as ground for the bail and listed out various other problems being faced by him.

The bench of justice GS Gill observed that measuring the facts of the case in context of Section 45 of the Money Laundering Act, the evidence collected by the investigating agency, particularly the information found stored in laptop and also the bank accounts and of other members of his family, remains unexplained and leaves no doubt about the complicity of the petitioner. It also recorded that given the stakes and the amount involved, there is a likelihood that the he would flee and thus, conditions prescribed by Section 45 of the Act do not stand satisfied for grant of bail.

However, taking note of his health problems, the court said medical report produced shows he is an obese person weighing 153 kg and having erratic hypertension and diabetes issues and additionally he is found to be having coronary artery disease (CAD).

The court took note of doctors’ opinion that his condition was deteriorating and jail doctors might not be fully equipped to handle a person with multiple ailments.

Considering the comorbidities of the petitioner, it can safely be said that he falls in the exception of being “sick” as carved out in Section 45 of the Act, so as to be entitled to be released on bail, the court said allowing his bail plea.