The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Shiv Sena (UBT) member and a close aide of MLC Anil Parab, Sadanand Kadam, accused in a money laundering case in connection with the construction of an allegedly illegal resort named Sai Resort in Dapoli, located in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district.
Sadanand Kadam was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 10, 2023 in connection to the aforesaid matter under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002. Kadam approached the High Court after his bail application was rejected by the Special PMLA Court in October.
Declining bail to Sadanand Kadam, the High Court observed that a reading of the PMLA complaint would clearly go to show the allegations that the subject property is directly or indirectly, by the applicant as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence. The court added that the applicant can be said to have directly or indirectly attempted to indulge or knowingly assisted or is knowingly a party or actually involved in process or activity connected with proceeds of crime and projected it as untainted property.
Kadam preferred a plea before the Supreme Court seeking bail against the impugned order of the High Court. Hearing the submissions, the bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan decided to grant bail to Kadam.
The top court said that the appellant is entitled to be enlarged on bail in accordance with Section 45(1)(ii) of the PMLA on appropriate terms and conditions, till the disposal of the complaint case filed by the Directorate of Enforcement under the PMLA.
Subsequently, the court directed the ED to produce Kadam before the Special Court within a period of one week from today. It added that the Special Court shall enlarge the appellant on bail on appropriate terms and conditions, till the trial of the complaint case concludes.