The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused bail to ex-Delhi cabinet minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma ruled that because Jain is an influential person and cannot be said to have fulfilled the two bail conditions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“The CBI has simply filed a case of disproportionate assets (DA). The current court cannot rule on the legality of these procedures. Certain DA were hidden, according to the facts. The court must examine the prima facie evidence. The broad probabilities suggest that he controls and manages the companies associated with him. The learned special judge ruling is without perversity. The order is well reasoned,” the Court stated.
Justice Sharma also added that there is a possibility that Jain tampered with the proof.
The Court pronounced its decision after it was reserved on March 22.
Satyendar Jain has been imprisoned since the ED apprehended him in May, 2022. On November 17, 2022, the trial judge denied his bail plea. On December 1, 2022, he challenged the order before the High Court.
For over a month, the High Court heard Senior Advocate N Hariharan for Jain and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) before eventually reserving its judgement.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) originally filed a case against Jain under Sections 13(2) (criminal misconduct by a public servant) and 13(e) (disproportionate assets) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The case was filed on the grounds that Jain had acquired movable properties in the names of different people between 2015 and 2017, which he could not satisfactorily account for.
Later, the ED filed a case against him, alleging that several companies beneficially owned and controlled by him got accommodation entries totaling ₹4.81 crore from shell companies in exchange for cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators via a hawala route.
