The Bench, comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, granted Singh the option to apply for bail in the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
NEW DELHI: Today (30th July): Aam Aadmi Party leader Jaswant Singh withdrew his Supreme Court petition challenging his arrest and remand by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case.
READ ALSO: SC Adjourns Hearing on Punjab AAP MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra’s Plea to July 1
The Bench, comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, granted Singh the option to apply for bail in the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
In May, the Supreme Court had denied interim bail to Singh, pending a hearing of the ED and the Central government’s perspectives.
Singh has been in custody for over six months related to the ED’s investigation into allegations of defrauding banks of Rs 40 crore by misappropriating loans given to his company. He claims his arrest breached Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhri and Advocate Nikhil Jain represented Singh in the Supreme Court. Singh’s withdrawal marks the fourth recent instance where a bail plea before Justice Bela Trivedi has been retracted by the accused, including Professor Hany Babu in the Bhima Koregaon case and Umar Khalid and Salim Malik in the Delhi riots cases, all citing changes in circumstances.
Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra, an MLA from Punjab, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate as part of a money laundering investigation connected to a bank fraud case. The arrest and subsequent remand have raised significant legal questions regarding the application of Section 19 of the PMLA, which deals with the powers of the ED to arrest individuals involved in money laundering activities.
Gajjan Majra began in May last year when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted extensive raids on properties linked to him. These raids were part of an investigation into an alleged bank fraud amounting to Rs 40 crore. The CBI’s actions marked the beginning of a series of legal challenges for the MLA.
In September 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) intensified the scrutiny by conducting raids on multiple premises associated with Majra. These raids were part of a money laundering probe connected to the alleged bank loan fraud. During these operations, the ED team seized significant assets, including Rs 32 lakh in cash, several mobile phones, and hard drives.
Case Title: Jaswant Singh vs Union of India and anr
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