SC refuses interim bail to AAP MLA Jaswant Singh Majra for campaigning in Punjab
May 29, 2024
New Delhi [India], May 29 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant interim bail to AAP MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra from Punjab, seeking interim bail to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
Majra, who is a representative from the Amargarh assembly constituency in Malerkotla, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to a bank fraud case.
A vacation bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Aravind Kumar issued notice to the ED and sought its response on the plea filed by Majra seeking interim bail till June 4 to campaign for the elections.
Voting for Punjab's 13 Lok Sabha seats will take place in the seventh and final phase on June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
The bench, however, said it was not inclined to grant interim relief to Majra without hearing the opposite parties. The apex court sought replies within a week.
On May 24, the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed his plea challenging his arrest, thereafter he approached the top court.
The CBI had conducted raids in May 2023 on premises linked to Majra in connection with an alleged bank fraud of Rs 40 crore.
In September 2022, the ED had conducted raids on several premises linked to him as part of a money laundering probe into the case and seized Rs 32 lakh cash, some mobile phones and hard drives.
