New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (March 18) refused to grant bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain in connection to a money laundering case. The apex court also annulled the interim bail previously granted to him and directed Jain to surrender immediately.
The AAP leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in May 2022 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and is accused of laundering money through three companies during 2010-12 and 2015-16, LiveLaw reported.
The Supreme Court had granted him interim bail on medical grounds in May last year.
The verdict
Monday’s verdict was delivered by a bench comprising Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal after hearing Jain’s special leave petition against an April 2023 Delhi high court order denying him bail. The judgment was reserved in January after four days of hearings.
The agency, represented by Additional Solicitor-General SV Raju, asserted that Jain wielded control over the implicated companies, despite relinquishing his directorship.
ED asserted that the companies were controlled by Jain’s family members as his proxies with co-accused Vaibhav and Ankush Jain acting as ‘dummies.’ According to LiveLaw, ASG Raju also cautioned the court against overturning the concurrent findings of the trial court and the high court, both of which had previously denied Jain’s request for bail.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Jain, refuted the allegations and stressed upon the lack of credible evidence tying Jain to the purported money laundering activities. Singhvi questioned the necessity of Jain’s arrest and highlighted his cooperation during the investigation. He argued against the application of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, maintaining Jain’s role as an architect rather than an investor or money handler.
Background
In 2017, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) accused Jain and others of laundering substantial sums – Rs 11.78 crore during 2010-2012 and Rs 4.63 crores during 2015-16 – during his tenures as a minister in the Delhi government. Three companies – Paryas Infosolution, Akinchan Developers, and Mangalayatan Projects – were identified by the CBI.
ED’s case against Jain is based on CBI’s complaint and alleges that Jain signed conveyance deeds for the purchase of agricultural lands by Prayas Infosolutions in 2011 and 2012.
The agency has further alleged that the land was later transferred to family members of Jain’s associates who denied knowledge about the transfers, according to LiveLaw.
In 2023, ED year attached properties worth Rs. 4.81 crores belonging to five companies and others in the money laundering case against Jain.
After his arrest in May 2022, Jain remained in custody until a vacation bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and P.S. Narasimha granted him interim bail on health grounds on May 26 last year. Since then, the interim relief has been extended on a number of occasions, LiveLaw reported.
