The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to former AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair, who is also one of the prime accused in the alleged Delhi Liquor Policy scam.
The top court granted bail to Vijay Nair in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case and reiterated that "liberty is sacrosanct."
Relying on the recent Supreme Court verdict, where it was held that "bail is the rule and jail is an exception even under PMLA," the top court granted bail to Nair.
A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti noted that Nair has been in jail for the last 22 months and the maximum punishment for the same is seven years.
Who Is Vijay Nair?
After Nair was arrested in November 2022, AAP in a press release said that Nair was communication in-charge of the party. He was responsible for developing and implementing communication strategies in Punjab and Gujarat.
According to media reports, Nair is a former CEO of an entertainment and events management company 'Only Much Louder' (OML).
In November 2022, Nair was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on charges of "active involvement" in activities involved in irregularities in the framing of now scrapped Excise policy. CBI alleged that he collected bribes from liquor firm owners.
Nair was granted regular bail in the CBI case, but he remained in custody in connection with the ED case. Today, he secured bail in the ED case as well.
Last year, the Delhi High Court denied him bail after observing that he was a close associate to Manish Sisodia and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Last month, other co-accused BRS leader K Kavitha and Manish Sisodia got bail in the Delhi Liquor Policy case in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court will resume hearing jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's bail plea in the CBI case on September 5.