Mehul Choksi denied bail by magistrate court on charges of illegal entry into Dominica

Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi pleaded not guilty on the charges of his illegal entry into the Caribbean island nation. He was denied bail by the magistrate court.

Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi was denied bail by a magistrate court in Dominica on Wednesday. He pleaded not guilty on the charges of his illegal entry into the Caribbean island nation following a high court order. Choksi's lawyer said that he should be granted bail on health grounds.Choksi had gone missing for some days in Antigua and Barbuda and was traced and arrested in Dominica on May 26. He had been staying in Antigua and Barbuda since January 2018 after fleeing India. ALSO READ: Exclusive: Documents show Mehul Choksi arrived in Dominica earlier than claimedThe diamantaire will stay in the hospital under police security. The matter has been adjourned till June 14.The High Court of Dominica hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by Mehul Choksi has adjourned the matter until Thursday. It furthered ordered that the businessman be produced before the magistrate court at 4 pm (Dominica time) on Wednesday.During the high court hearing, Mehul Choksi's counsel argued that he doesn't feel safe in the police custody in Dominica. "I am ready to pay for my return to Antigua," he told the high court.The government of Dominica told the court that Mehul Choksi, who is wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case in India, has to be deported to India.India Today TV has learnt that the Dominican Public Prosecution Service submitted before the High Court of Dominica that the petition filed by Mehul Choksi is "not maintainable", and hence it "should not be heard".Mehul Choksi's legal team had filed the habeas corpus plea last week after he was detained in Dominica, allegedly for having entered the country illegally from Antigua and Barbuda.His lawyers have alleged that he was "abducted" and "forcibly taken" to Dominica. They have also alleged that he was assaulted and there are "marks of injury" on his body.Mehul Choksi has been staying in Antigua and Barbuda since January 2018, weeks before the PNB fraud case came to light. He had acquired citizenship of the island nation by way of investment.Meanwhile, Vijay Aggarwal, his lawyer in India, said, "Our stand that Mehul Choksi is in illegal detention as he was required to be produced within 72 hours before the magistrate and was not so produced, has been vindicated. To remedy this, he has been asked to be produced before the magistrate. This establishes the illegal detention of Mehul Choksi as pleaded by the defence. Contrary to numerous media reports, there was no discussion regarding the government of India."He should be sent to Antigua, says Mehul Choksi's wife.