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New Delhi: 0n Monday, The Supreme Court extended till December 11 the interim bail granted to former Delhi minister Satyendar Kumar Jain in a money laundering case. The apex court is seized of a plea filed by Jain challenging the April 6 order of the Delhi High Court which had dismissed his bail plea in the case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
On May 26, the apex court had granted him interim bail for six weeks on medical grounds. Later the court increased the relief. The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma. The lawyer appearing for Jain said that a special bench of Justice A S Bopanna and Justice Trivedi had earlier heard arguments in the case.
He said that since the presiding judge of the bench, Justice Bopanna, was not available on Monday, the matter should be listed for hearing on some other date. Justice Trivedi said, “We have to see whether the interim order should be continued or not because it cannot remain for so long.” Jain’s counsel requested the bench to list the matter for hearing next week.
The lawyer appearing for Jain said that a special bench of Justice A S Bopanna and Justice Trivedi had earlier heard arguments in the case. He said that since the presiding judge of the bench, Justice Bopanna, was not available on Monday, the matter should be listed for hearing on some other date.
Adjourning the matter till December 11, the bench said, “The interim order will continue.” The ED had earlier claimed that the AAP leader was repeatedly seeking adjournment in the trial court on the grounds that his bail plea was pending in the Supreme Court. The investigating agency had alleged that Jain had taken 16 dates from the trial court.
On May 26, the Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Jain for six weeks on medical grounds, saying that a citizen has the right to get treatment of his choice in a private hospital at his own expense. The ED had arrested the AAP leader on May 30 last year on charges of money laundering through four companies allegedly linked to him. It had arrested Jain on the basis of a CBI FIR registered against him in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Jain, who has denied the allegations, was granted regular bail by the trial court in the case registered by the CBI on September 6, 2019.
