The Supreme Court on Monday further extended till next date of hearing, the interim bail on medical grounds to former Delhi minister Satyendar Kumar Jain who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case on May 30, 2022.
Continuing the interim order, Justice Bela M. Trivedi heading a bench also comprising Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said that interim order cannot continue for that long and they have to see these aspects.
Urging the bench to adjourn the matter, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the matter has been partially heard by a bench comprising Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice Bela M. Trivedi and today Justice Bopanna is on leave. Seeking the positing of the matter after the Christmas and New Year Holidays, Singhvi said that he has been told that Justice Bopanna will sit next month.
As Justice Trivedi said that the interim order cannot continue for that long and they have to see these aspects, senior advocate Singhvi said that the interim order cannot be touched as the bench which was hearing the matter is not assembling.
On May 26, 2023, the Supreme Court had granted six weeks interim bail to Satyendar Jain on medical grounds. On July 10, the court extended the interim bail by two weeks.
While ordering the release of Satyendar Jain, the top court had said that during the period of bail he will not try to meet or influence the witnesses or leave the NCT Delhi without the permission of the court. It had further directed Jain not to meet or speak to the media on any issue.
Jain, being investigated by ED for alleged money laundering, has approached the top court challenging April 6, Delhi High Court order dismissing his bail plea. He is facing prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Special PMLA court had on November 17, 2022, dismissed his bail plea.
Jain was arrested on May 30, 2022, and charged under various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by Enforcement Directorate and is presently in Judicial Custody.
The ED case is based on a CBI’s complaint alleging that Satyendar Jain had acquired immovable properties in the name of various persons from February 14, 2015, to May 31, 2017, which he could not satisfactorily account for.