By IANS,
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) why it was opposing the bail plea of Sumit Walia, the alleged kingpin of a luxury cars import scam.
A vacation bench of Justice V.K. Shali asked DRI, which approached the court against the grant of bail to Walia, to file its reply by July 29, the next date of hearing.
The agency had arrested Walia here after a month-long probe May 14. It accuses him of the “illegal” import of nearly 100 vehicles and evading import duty of Rs.400 crore.
According to DRI officials, Walia used to bring stolen or second-hand cars from abroad and sell them off as brand new vehicles to high income individuals in Delhi and other cities like Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Chandigarh.
Walia was granted bail by a local court in May after he furnished a surety of Rs.200,000.
Approaching the High Court earlier this month, DRI said Walia may tamper with evidence if he is out on bail.
“The racket run by Walia and others has been hit after his arrest. We fear that after being granted bail, Walia may not only try to influence the probe, but may try to revive his contacts and will again indulge in the illegal trade,” a DRI official said.
The agency also said that officials of some embassies also helped Walia in importing the cars as they are not required to pay duty on imported goods.
Meanwhile, the court has asked Walia to file his reply by the next date of hearing.