Supreme Court reserves verdict on regular bail plea of AAP leader Satyendar Jain in money laundering case

New Delhi, January 17

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on regular bail plea of senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case.

A Bench led by Justice Bela M Trivedi reserved the verdict after hearing arguments from senior counsel AM Singhvi, representing Jain, and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, for the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

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 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 on medical grounds.

While extending the interim bail of the senior AAP leader, the top court had earlier asked him not to make the pendency of the case before it a ruse to delay the trial proceedings.

While extending Jain’s interim bail, the Bench had earlier said, “The interim order cannot continue for such a long time.”

On April 6, the Delhi High Court had dismissed the bail plea of Jain in a money laundering case, 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, in the case registered by the CBI.

ED 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 alleged that Jain had taken as many as 16 dates from the trial court.