The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) regarding the default bail plea submitted by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain, who was arrested in a money laundering case.
The matter was heard before the single bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
Jain is appealing against the Rouse Avenue Court's May 15 decision, which denied his bail plea.
The AAP leader argues that the ED failed to complete its investigation within the required timeframe and instead submitted an incomplete prosecution complaint to the trial court on July 27, 2022.
He contends that this incomplete complaint was an attempt to deny him his right to default bail under Section 167 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Jain claims that submitting an incomplete chargesheet while the investigation is still pending under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) infringes on his fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and negates his indefeasible right to default bail under Section 167 (2) CrPC.
Previously, on March 18, the Supreme Court denied Jain regular bail in this case.
The trial court had initially rejected his bail plea on November 17, 2022, and this decision was upheld by the Delhi High Court in April 2023.
The Supreme Court confirmed these rulings in March this year, determining that Jain did not meet the stringent requirements for bail in money-laundering cases.
The ED's case against Jain is based on an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under Sections 13(2) (criminal misconduct by public servant) and 13(e) (disproportionate assets) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The FIR alleges that between 2015 and 2017, Jain acquired movable properties in the names of various individuals without providing satisfactory explanations.
The ED later registered a case, alleging that several companies owned and controlled by Jain received accommodation entries totaling ₹4.81 crore from shell companies, facilitated by cash transfers to Kolkata-based entry operators through a hawala route.
The Court scheduled the hearing for July 9.
