MUMBAI, July 20 -- A 98-year-old former chairman and managing director of Bank of Maharashtra has been declared medically unfit to stand trial in a 30-year-old bank fraud case, with a special CBI court postponing proceedings against him for six months after a medical board diagnosed him with Alzheimer's-related dementia. Special judge P B Ghuge relied on the evaluation done by a medical board at B J Government Medical College and Sassoon Hospital, Pune, which concluded that he was incapable of facing trial because of the "nature and severity of his illness". The court observed that Patwardhan, who had sought postponement of the proceedings on grounds of permanent physical and mental incapacity, was not in a position to defend himself because of his advanced age and deteriorating mental health. While deferring proceedings against Patwardhan, the court allowed the trial against the remaining accused to continue. However, the court had rejected his application seeking discharge from the case. The case dates back to a 1996 CBI probe into alleged irregularities in loans sanctioned by Bank of Maharashtra to the Stretch Fibres group. Patwardhan and several former bank officials face charges of criminal conspiracy, forgery and corruption. In 2007, the Bombay high court had refused to discharge him from the case, holding that there was sufficient prima facie material for the case to proceed....