High Court cites questionable complicity while granting bail to AAP MLA

Granting bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Jaswant Singh in an Enforcement Directorate case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asserted that he ceased to be the director of the company in question seven years before the case’s initiation. The assertion came as Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu observed that his complicity “would be a debatable question during trial”.

Jaswant Singh is an MLA from the Amargarh constituency and was arrested in November last year. The state’s stand in the matter was that he had been associated as a director since the inception of Tara Corporation Limited (TCL) engaged in trading of cattle feed.

Appearing for the ED, the Additional Solicitor-General of India submitted before the Bench that loan facility of Rs 46 crore was fraudulently availed by the TCL, while showing bogus share capital and fictitious turnovers.

“The petitioner is the kingpin of the bank fraud as he stood guarantor for the credit facility availed by the TCL and caused loss to the public exchequer,” it was alleged.

Justice Sindhu asserted: “Even as per the stand taken by the ED itself, the petitioner ceased to be a director of the TCL with effect from December 21, 2015, much prior to the lodging of the present FIR on May 23, 2022. Thus, in such a scenario, the complicity of petitioner would be a debatable question during trial.”

Justice Sindhu asserted the petitioner had been in custody since November 6, 2023. “As per the stand taken by the ED itself, the investigation qua other co-accused is still going on. Thus, not even remotely there will be any chance that the trial is likely to be concluded in near future,” the court observed.

Gajjanmajra walks out of jail after 1 yr

AAP legislator from Amargarh Prof Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra was released from the Central Jail, Patiala, on Wednesday. Gajjanmajra alleged the Centre had been exploiting probe agencies for settling political scores with Opposition leaders

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