Supreme Court reserves order on bail plea of former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain in money laundering case

New Delhi [India], January 17 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved an order on the bail plea of former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case.
A bench of Justice Bela M. Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal reserved the order after Jain's counsel and ED counsel concluded the arguments.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for ED, took court through concurrent findings of trial court and high court and through other details related to the case.
Countering the ED submission, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Jain, said that his client has been incarcerated for a year. He also remarked that the probe agency is trying to convert an income tax case into a money laundering matter.
The senior advocate urged the top court to grant bail to Jain, saying that he is not a flight risk or threat to witnesses. The senior advocate also said that this is a matter of life and liberty for Jain.
The Enforcement Directorate has opposed the bail plea of former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain and has submitted before the top court that whenever he 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 down, which is a strange coincidence. However, Jain counsel called the submission baseless.
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 benches 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-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 last year. The interim bail given to Jain on medical grounds is extended from time to time and he will remain on interim bail until further orders.
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 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 Jain's 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, content 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.