Land-for-Jobs-Case: Delhi HC Declines to Cancel Interim Bail Granted to Amit Katyal

The Delhi High Court declined to cancel the 4-week interim bail awarded to Amit Katyal, a close aide of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, on medical grounds in a money laundering case related to the purported land-for-jobs scam in the Indian Railway.

Observing that the defendant’s plea for a further extension of the interim bail is awaiting consideration before the trial court, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma stated that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) retains the right to address its concerns there, to be handled in accordance with the law.

The judge noted that Katyal was released from judicial custody on February 6, subsequent to the interim bail granted a day prior, and highlighted that the present petition challenging the relief was initiated by the ED only when the 4-week period was nearing its end.

“In view of these unique facts and circumstances, this Court finds no grounds to annul the four-week interim bail granted to the respondent under the impugned order dated 05.02.2024,” Justice Sharma remarked.

The ED argued before the high court that, according to the doctors at RML Hospital, Katyal could receive treatment at government hospitals and manage his condition with proper medical care and medication. The court noted that when granting him interim bail, there was no medical opinion beyond the reports provided by the medical officer in charge at Tihar jail. The trial court granted relief to the accused based on a diagnosis of coronary artery disease, morbid obesity, and other complications.

“However, during the proceedings, this court was informed that an application seeking an extension of interim bail, filed on behalf of the respondent, is pending before the learned Trial Court. If such is the case, the Directorate of Enforcement is free to raise with the learned Trial Court the issue regarding subsequent medical opinion obtained from RML Hospital regarding the applicant’s medical condition,” the court stated in the order.

Katyal was arrested by the ED on November 11, 2023, under various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The central agency alleged that Katyal had acquired land from several job aspirants on behalf of the RJD chief and former railway minister Lalu Prasad.

The ED claimed that Katyal served as the director of a company called AK Infosystems Private Limited, which acquired land from candidates “on behalf” of Lalu Prasad. Some other members of the RJD supremo’s family are also implicated in the case.