Supreme Court to deliver verdict on Satyendar Jain’s bail plea on Monday
New Delhi, March 17
The Supreme Court will pronounce on Monday its verdict on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain’s petition seeking regular bail in a money laundering case.
A Bench led by Justice Bela M Trivedi—which had reserved its judgement on January 17 after hearing the arguments of senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi for Jain and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju for the Enforcement Directorate (ED)—is also expected to deliver its verdict on the bail plea of co-accused Ankush Jain on March 18.
Arrested on May 30 last year by the ED, Jain is accused of having laundered money through four companies allegedly linked to him. The case emanates from a CBI FIR registered against him in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He has challenged the April 6, 2023 order of the Delhi High Court denying him bail in the money laundering case.
The top court had on May 26 granted a six-week interim bail to the AAP leader on medical grounds. Since then, his interim bail has been extended several times.
While extending the interim bail, the top court had earlier asked him not to make the pendency of the case before it a ruse to delay the trial proceedings.
The Delhi High Court had dismissed the bail plea of Jain, noting the witnesses’ claim that he was the conceptualiser, initiator and fund provider in the alleged crime.
The high court had said the senior AAP leader was an influential person having the potential to tamper with evidence. He was granted regular bail by a trial court on September 6, 2019.
The ED has alleged that the AAP leader was seeking repeated adjournments in the trial court on grounds that his bail plea was pending before the apex court. The probe agency has alleged that Jain has taken as many as 16 dates from the trial court.
