<p>The Bombay High Court has directed a special court here not to pass a final order for four weeks on a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking to declare diamond merchant Mehul Choksi a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO).</p>.<p>Justice A M Badar on Tuesday said the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court shall not pass a final order for four weeks.</p>.<p>The high court posted Choksi's petition against the proceedings in the lower court for hearing after four weeks.</p>.<p>Choksi, a prime accused in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, is presently in Antigua. He said in an affidavit filed before the high court that he can not return to India due to ill-health.</p>.<p>He also claimed that he left India in January 2018 to undergo bypass surgery and not to avoid prosecution.</p>.<p>He would return to India if he is medically fit, he added.</p>.<p>Justice Badar said the lower court can carry on with the proceedings on the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) application, but it shall not pass any final order for now.</p>.<p>Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of defrauding PNB to the tune of Rs 13,400 crore in collusion with a few bank employees by fraudulently obtaining Letters of Undertaking, a form of credit guarantee given to overseas banks.</p>.<p>In December last year, the special court declared Modi a Fugitive Economic Offender. Declaration as an FEO enables investigating agencies to seize the person's properties. </p>
<p>The Bombay High Court has directed a special court here not to pass a final order for four weeks on a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking to declare diamond merchant Mehul Choksi a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO).</p>.<p>Justice A M Badar on Tuesday said the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court shall not pass a final order for four weeks.</p>.<p>The high court posted Choksi's petition against the proceedings in the lower court for hearing after four weeks.</p>.<p>Choksi, a prime accused in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, is presently in Antigua. He said in an affidavit filed before the high court that he can not return to India due to ill-health.</p>.<p>He also claimed that he left India in January 2018 to undergo bypass surgery and not to avoid prosecution.</p>.<p>He would return to India if he is medically fit, he added.</p>.<p>Justice Badar said the lower court can carry on with the proceedings on the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) application, but it shall not pass any final order for now.</p>.<p>Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of defrauding PNB to the tune of Rs 13,400 crore in collusion with a few bank employees by fraudulently obtaining Letters of Undertaking, a form of credit guarantee given to overseas banks.</p>.<p>In December last year, the special court declared Modi a Fugitive Economic Offender. Declaration as an FEO enables investigating agencies to seize the person's properties. </p>