Bhushan Steel Money laundering case : Court grants bail to woman accused considering her medical and provision of PMLA

New Delhi [India], February 14 : The Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday granted bail to a woman accused in the Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL) money laundering case. She was arrested on January 2024.
It is alleged by the ED that accused Archana entered into a criminal conspiracy with her husband Ajay S Mittal and ex-promoters of BSL and mortgaged properties held by associate companies of BSL and raised loans to the extent of Rs 35 crore from an NBFC Edelweiss and this amount was transferred by her husband to accused Ritu Singal.
Special CBI judge Rajesh Kumar Goel granted bail to Archana Ajay Mittal after considering her medical condition and the provision related to granting bail to women accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Court granted bail to Archana Ajay Mittal, subject to conditions including furnishing a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh and one surety bond in the like amount.
Special judge Goel said that the accused, Archana Ajay Mittal, is a woman aged about 56 years and her case comes within the ambit of provisions attached to section 45 of the Act and if the triple test and other parameters for granting the bail are applied then it is a fit case where she can be enlarged on bail.
The Court said, "Further, the medical documents placed on record would prima facie be sufficient to arrive at a conclusion that the accused Archana Ajay Mittal is suffering from various ailments and she is not keeping good health."
"Even if the treatment for such ailments is available in the jail or in the medical facilities attached with the jail, still it would not be a ground to reject the bail application because the bail sought on medical grounds is in addition to the other grounds as noted herein above," Special Judge Goel held in the order passed on February 14, 2024.
Thus, the medical condition of the accused also tilts in favour of the accused for mconsidering her to be enlarged on bail, the court said.
The Court noted that in the present case ED has already filed the complaint on August 8, 2023 against around 76 accused persons.
"A careful examination of the said complaint would reveal that the allegations made against the present accused Archana Ajay Mittal were there even at that time and the same have been incorporated in the said complaint but surprisingly the present accused was not made an accused in the said original complaint," the court observed.
The allegations against the accused, Archana Ajay Mittal is that she had received an amount of Rs 45 crores during the financial year 2012-2013 from co-accused Brij Bhushan Singal which was diverted from the proceeds of crime, that is, from the coffers of the Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL).
It is also alleged that the accused had further received an amount of Rs 5 crore during the financial year 2013-2014 from another co-accused namely Neeraj Singal which was also diverted from the coffers of BSL.
It is also stated that during the investigation, it was revealed that the husband of the present accused namely Ajay S Mittal, presently in judicial custody and her son Ananya Mittal had received an amount of Rs 40 crores from Brij Bhushan Singal and Neeraj Singal.
During the investigation, it was revealed that an amount of Rs 20 crores out of the aforesaid Rs 42 crores originated from the coffers of BSL making the total proceeds of crime making a total of Rs 70 crores.
It is the allegations of the ED that erstwhile M/S Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL) had obtained loans from various banks and financial institutions and as on March 31, 2017, the outstanding liability was Rs 46,646.73 crores.
It is alleged that co-accused persons Brij Bhushan Singal and Neeraj Singal , who were the promoters Directors of the said company created more than 150 companies and had diverted the funds in different forms from BSL and Bhushan Energy Limited (BEL) into several associate companies.
According to the ED, the siphoning of funds of BSL was achieved by the ex-promoters of BSL with the active involvement and assistance of the present accused.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra appeared for the accused.
It was stated that the accused was in custody of the ED during the period January 10, 2024 to January 1, 2024 and thereafter she is in judicial custody. The accused is neither a Director nor a Promoter member nor an employee of the said Bhushan Steel Limited.
ED has already filed the complaint on 08.08.2023. The accused was not named in the said complaint.