With documents running to 8,103 pages and the trial unlikely to end soon, the Karnataka High Court has granted regular bail to Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki and his accountant Robin Khandelwal in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate. The allegations are untested and the accused are presumed innocent.
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Bengaluru: Holding that the chances of the trial concluding in the near future are very remote, the Karnataka High Court has granted regular bail to Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki and his accountant Robin Khandelwal in a case under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). [Robin Khandelwal v. Directorate of Enforcement; Srikrishna Ramesh @ Sriki v. Directorate of Enforcement]
Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty passed the order in Criminal Petition Nos. 13669 and 13670 of 2026, filed after the Special Judge rejected the bail pleas.
A Trial That Is Not Close
The pace of the case weighed with the Court: it is at the pre-cognizance stage before the Trial Court, the documents run to 8,103 pages and ten charge-sheet witnesses have been cited. The Court said:
“chances of trial being completed and case being disposed of in the near soon is very remote”
The Court turned down the contention that the accused might shift or misuse undiscovered proceeds of crime, saying the argument “does not appeal to the mind of this Court”. It observed that the case was registered in 2021 but the arrest came only in 2026, so the accused could have moved any proceeds earlier, and that there was no allegation of misuse of bail in any predicate offence case. It relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in V. Senthil Balaji v. Deputy Director, Directorate of Enforcement (2024), which states that bail is the rule and jail the exception.
What The ED Alleges
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Sriki, described as accused no. 1, laundered funds generated through hacking of multiple cryptocurrency exchanges, poker and gaming websites, while Khandelwal, accused no. 3, was his accountant. The case arises from an Enforcement Case Information Report registered in 2021, and the ED has filed a prosecution complaint against the petitioners and other accused. They were arrested in this case on 8 May 2026. These are the ED’s allegations and have not been tested at trial.
The predicate offence cases were registered between 2017 and 2020; the petitioners obtained bail in all of them. They were also summoned in connection with a separate 2020 ECIR and released on regular bail.
Operative Order
“the prayer made by accused nos.1 & 3 … for grant of regular bail is required to be answered affirmatively, subject to appropriate conditions”
Bail was granted on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each with two sureties for the like sum, and the petitioners may not leave the jurisdiction of the Trial Court without prior permission. These are the conditions reported, and others may form part of the order. The bail order is not a finding on the merits, and the case against the petitioners remains to be tried.
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Case Details: Robin Khandelwal v. Directorate of Enforcement, Criminal Petition No. 13669 of 2026; Srikrishna Ramesh @ Sriki v. Directorate of Enforcement, Criminal Petition No. 13670 of 2026 (Karnataka High Court). Before: Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty.
Appearances: Not reported.