Ratul Puri was granted bail in an alleged money laundering case
A CBI court has granted bail to Ratul Puri, nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, in the alleged AgustaWestland money laundering case. Special CBI judge Arvind Kumar granted bail to Mr Puri on a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and two sureties of Rs 5 lakh.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Mr Puri on September 9 in an alleged money laundering case in connection with the AgustaWestland case. He was sent to Tihar Jail in Delhi.
Mr Puri had filed for bail plea before the CBI court, arguing that he was not connected or associated with any of the companies that allegedly helped in money laundering in the VVIP helicopter deal.
His lawyer said his case meets the factors for granting bail. Citing a Supreme Court judgment that said bail is the rule and jail is an exception, Mr Puri's counsel argued that no purpose would be achieved by his continued incarceration.
The ED also filed a supplementary chargesheet last month against Mr Puri and Jaspreet Ahuja in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP case.
Mr Puri can't come out of Tihar Jail as he is yet to get bail in the Moser Baer money laundering case.
Mr Puri was arrested by the ED on August 20 in connection with the Moser Baer bank fraud case. He is in judicial custody.
He has also applied for bail in the Moser Baer bank fraud case. The CBI court has listed the matter for hearing on December 5.