Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Dec 1: In the money laundering case that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) brought against Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain, the Delhi High Court on Thursday requested the ED’s response.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, a single judge, ordered the ED to submit its response within two weeks and scheduled a new hearing for December 20.
Jain petitioned the Delhi High Court to overturn a trial court decision from November 17 that had denied him bail.
In May 2022, the ED detained the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader on suspicion of money laundering.
Jain claimed in his request for bail that the special judge had found in his favour when he determined that he never owned a third of the shares in the three businesses where it is claimed that money was laundered.
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He asserted that this destroyed the entire foundation of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case, which serves as the ED’s predicate case.
It was also argued that Jain is eligible for bail under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act because, even under the allegations, the notional sum attributable to him is 59 lakh.
The ED claims that between 2015 and 2016, while Jain was employed by the government, businesses beneficially owned and controlled by him accepted lodging entries totaling 4.81 crore rupees from shell companies in exchange for money sent to entry operators in Kolkata via a hawala route.
