Mumbai Court Rejects Purvi Modi's Plea to Record Statement via Video Call
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai has rejected a plea by Purvi Modi, sister of fugitive diamond trader Nirav Modi, to record her statements through video conferencing in the ₹6,498-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. Special CBI judge SK Karhale ruled that her physical presence is necessary for detailed questioning and confrontation with voluminous documents connected to the case, which involved fraudulent transactions at PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai.
The court noted that Purvi, a Belgian national named as accused number 31 in the CBI's second supplementary charge sheet, had failed to respond to a notice issued by the investigating officer in June 2022. Judge Karhale stated that this failure prima facie showed she had not cooperated with the investigation. The judge emphasized that under Indian criminal law, the investigating officer exercises complete control over the probe and an accused or approver cannot dictate how the investigation is conducted.
Purvi had sought permission to appear remotely, telling the court that she was settled in Belgium and had been cooperating with the agency. Her lawyer argued that Indian law, the Bombay High Court Video Conferencing Rules, and the CBI Manual permit statements to be recorded through video conferencing. Purvi has also applied to become an approver in the case, similar to her husband, Maiank Mehta.
The CBI strongly opposed the request, contending that Purvi was a beneficiary of the alleged fraud and had consistently failed to cooperate. The agency stated that provisions permitting video conferencing do not give an accused the right to insist on being examined remotely, and insisted that physical interrogation was required given her crucial role.
Judge Karhale agreed with the prosecution, observing that in a serious case involving thousands of crores of rupees and large volumes of documents, entries, and transactions, investigators must be granted a fair opportunity to conduct an in-person investigation. The court also noted that Nirav Modi's brother, Neeshal Modi, is another accused Belgian citizen whose extradition was rejected by Belgium due to local restrictions on extraditing its own citizens.
According to the CBI, the Nirav Modi group defrauded PNB of ₹6,498 crore by fraudulently obtaining 150 Letters of Undertaking from the bank's Brady House branch for use at overseas branches of Indian banks.
