"When There's Bail Petition, He...": Probe Agency To Court On Ex Delhi Minister

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday opposed the bail plea of former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain and informed the Supreme Court that it is a coincidence that whenever the hearing on bail takes place in court, Jain falls down unconscious.

In this context, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for ED, commented and said that lightning never strikes in the same place twice.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju submitted before the top court and said, "Whenever Jain wants to be out of jail, he moves bail on medical grounds and stays in the hospital. Whenever there is an argument on the bail in the court, he falls unconscious, which is a strange coincidence."

However, Jain's counsel called the submission baseless.

As the hearing remained inconclusive today, a bench of Justice Bela M. Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal listed the matter for January 17 after Jain's counsel concluded their arguments.

Meanwhile, Jain's interim bail will remain extended until further orders in a money laundering case.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for ED, took the court through allegations against Satyendar Jain.

ASG SV Raju apprised the court about the unaccounted cash received by the companies. ASG apprised the court that JP Mohta was his chartered accountant who was looking after these companies.

ASG said the ED case is that Jain wanted to convert cash into white and hence he told Mohta to find a way to do it.

ASG says Jain has told Mohta that he knows some Calcutta operators who have shell companies that will give you entries if you give them cash, maybe even charge a little commission and give you interest and that money will come in the form of shares.

ASG SV Raju informed the SC that the price of these shares was inflated so that more money could come and fewer shares could go.

Justice Mithal wanted to know how this would help Satyendar Jain. To which ASG SV Raju replied that it would help Jain convert this money into white money.

Meanwhile, the hearing on Jain's bail witnessed many twists and turns in December 2023, as Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud explained why the matter was listed before a different combination of the bench as there was a matter relating to the extension of bail.

CJI also mentioned the communication received from Justice AS Bopanna to take up part of heard matter from him because he will not be able to hear the matter due to medical reasons.

Earlier, Jain's bail plea was partly heard by a bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Bela M. Trivedi. Later, the matter was listed before a bench of Justice Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma.

Jain underwent surgery on July 21. The interim bail given to Jain on medical grounds is extended from time to time.

On May 26, the top court granted interim bail to Satyendar Jain for six weeks in the money laundering case but imposed various conditions, including refusing to talk with the media or leaving Delhi without permission.

Satyendar Jain has moved to the top court seeking bail in money laundering cases. He has challenged the Delhi High Court order dismissing his bail plea in the money laundering case against him.

On April 6, the Delhi High Court dismissed the bail plea of Satyendra Jain.

The HC, while dismissing the Satyendar Jain bail plea, stated that the applicant is an influential person and has the potential to tamper with evidence. Satyender Jain/applicant, at this stage, can't be held to clear the twin conditions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The HC had kept the order reserved for March 21 after the conclusion of the submissions made by the defence and prosecution sides after multiple hearings. During arguments in the High Court, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju appeared for the Enforcement Directorate, contented that money laundering is crystal clear against Jain and other co-accused.

In his bail plea, Jain stated, "I appeared before the ED on seven occasions. I have cooperated and participated in the investigation. I was arrested five years down the line in 2022."

On November 17, 2022, the trial court dismissed the bail petition of Satyendar Jain. He was arrested on May 30, 2022, under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Enforcement Directorate and is presently in judicial custody in the case.

The ED case is based on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) complaint registered on the allegation that Satyendar Jain had acquired movable properties in the name of various persons from February 14, 2015, to May 31, 2017, which he could not satisfactorily account for.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)