The Supreme Court on Wednesday denied to grant interim bail to Punjab AAP MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering investigation related to a bank fraud case.
Notice Issued to ED
A vacation bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Aravind Kumar issued a notice to the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Majra’s plea for interim bail to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The counsel representing the MLA sought interim bail until June 4 to allow him to campaign for the ongoing elections. However, the apex court stated it was not inclined to grant relief to the AAP MLA from Amargarh without hearing from the opposite parties.
Plea Dismissed
It is to be noted that Punjab is set to go to polls in the last phase on June 1, 2024.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had earlier dismissed Majra’s plea challenging his arrest, observing that there was no illegality in his detention.
Background of the Case
In May, 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids on premises linked to Gajjan Majra concerning an alleged bank fraud of Rs 40 crore. Subsequently, in September 2022, the ED conducted raids on several premises associated with him as part of a money laundering probe related to the alleged bank loan fraud. During these raids, the ED team seized Rs 32 lakh in cash, along with some mobile phones and hard drives.
