The Supreme Court today dismissed the bail plea of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain in the money laundering case against him.
A bench comprising Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal ordered the AAP leader to surrender before jail authorities immediately. Satyendar Jain is currently out on medical bail.
The top court ordered that all the appeals are dismissed, adding that Satyendar Jain has to surrender forthwith. The judgment came on the bail plea of the former Delhi Health Minister in the money-laundering case against him.
Satyendar Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in May 2022, and remained in jail for a year before procuring interim bail on medical grounds. The apex court first granted interim medical bail to Jain in May 2023. Later, it was extended by the court and he is outside jail as of now.
Initially, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a case against Jain under Sections 13(2) (criminal misconduct by public servant) read with 13(e) (disproportionate assets) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The aforesaid case was lodged on the allegation that Satyendar Jain had acquired movable properties in the name of various persons between 2015 and 2017 which he could not satisfactorily account for.
Subsequently, the ED also alleged that multiple companies beneficially owned and controlled by him received accommodation entries amounting to Rs 4.81 crore from shell companies against cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators through a hawala route. The AAP leader was later arrested, and a trial court had rejected his bail plea on November 17, 2022.
In April 2023, the Delhi High Court denied bail to him, while opining that Jain was an influential person and cannot be said to have satisfied the twin conditions for bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Eventually, the appeal was lodged before the top court.