MUMBAI, July 13 -- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last week told the Bombay High Court that it need not arrest Maiank Mehta, brother-in-law of fugitive diamond trader Nirav Modi, in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, although the court allowed the central agency to file a charge sheet against him. Acting on a petition filed by Mehta, the court had earlier restrained the CBI from filing a charge sheet against him. Mehta had approached the high court, claiming that the CBI could not prosecute him in the predicate offence when the special PMLA court had in a connected money laundering case allowed him to turn approver and granted him conditional pardon. A division-bench of Justice Ajey Gadkari and Justice Rajesh Patil passed the order on a plea filed by the CBI, which had sought permission to file a charge sheet against Mehta, a British national and Hong Kong resident. Mehta had in 2022 approached the high court after the CBI opposed his plea to travel abroad, claiming that it was still investigating the matter and Mehta was in the zone of suspicion. The CBI had claimed that Mehta and his wife, Nirav Modi's sister Purvi, had helped the fugitive diamond trader divert funds illegally obtained from PNB funds, and as such were co-conspirators in the fraud at the public sector bank. The CBI further claimed that in November 2013, a sum of 30 million USD was transferred from M/s Pacific Diamond, FZE, a shell company floated by Nirav Modi, to Maiank Mehta's account with Barclays Bank, Singapore. According to the CBI, Mehta had later transferred the sum to the bank accounts of his wife Purvi, who in turn converted the sum into fixed deposits. In his petition filed in the high court, Mehta had sought that no coercive steps be taken against him as he had been accepted by the special PMLA court as an approver in the case against Nirav Modi, and as such cannot be prosecuted by the CBI in the predicate office. Mehta was earlier arraigned as an accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), but was later allowed to turn approver in the case. He had argued that having been granted pardon by the ED, the CBI cannot arraign him as an accused. The CBI, however, opposed the plea, contending that offences investigated by the CBI were distinct and separate from offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which are investigated by the ED. Acting on his plea, the court in July 2022, restrained the CBI from filing a charge sheet against the Hong Kong resident. However, on Thursday, the agency told the court that the investigation was complete and the charge sheet was ready and sought permission to file it in the special CBI court. The court accepted the agency's plea and asked it to file the charge sheet against Mehta before the trial court within a week from the order. Accordingly, the agency has filed a supplementary charge sheet naming Mehta as an accused in its case against Nirav Modi and several others. The bench has also directed the special CBI court to take an expeditious decision on Mehta's plea to turn approver in the CBI case as well....