The Supreme Court is set to hear the bail plea of former Delhi Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Satyendar Jain in the money laundering case against him today. A bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Sanjay Karol agreed to list the matter for hearing on May 26 after senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Jain, sought an urgent hearing of the plea on health grounds. The hearing will be held at around 12 PM today.
Jain was hospitalised due to a spine injury and is currently on oxygen support. Tihar jail officials have said that the former minister fell in the bathroom in the morning. This comes after he was taken to the Safdarjung Hospital on Monday to inspect a spinal problem. He was examined by doctors for a second opinion after he was taken to the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital on Saturday.
Last week, Jain moved the apex court seeking bail in the case against him. He had challenged the Delhi High Court's order dismissing his bail plea in the money laundering case against him. On April 6, the Delhi High Court dismissed the bail plea of Satyendra Jain. The HC while dismissing the Satyendar Jain bail plea stated that the applicant is an influential person and has the potential of tampering with evidence. Satyender Jain/applicant, at this stage, can't be held to clear the twin conditions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as reported by the news agency ANI.
The HC had kept the order reserved on March 21 after the conclusion of the submissions made by the defence and prosecution sides after multiple hearings. During arguments, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju appeared for Enforcement Directorate contented that money laundering is crystal clear against Jain and other co-accused.In his bail plea, Jain stated, "I appeared before ED on 7 occasions. I have cooperated and participated in the investigation. I was arrested 5 years down the line in 2022," as quoted by ANI.
On November 17, 2022, the trial court dismissed the bail petition of Satyendar Jain. He was arrested on May 30, 2022, under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by Enforcement Directorate and is presently in Judicial Custody in the case. The ED case is based on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) complaint registered on the allegation that Satyender Jain had acquired movable properties in the name of various persons from February 14, 2015, to May 31, 2017, which he could not satisfactorily account for.