New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing on former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain’s bail plea in an alleged money laundering case till November 24.
A bench of Justice A.S. Bopanna and Bela M. Trivedi adjourned the matter.
As the proceedings were adjourned, the interim bail granted to Jain on medical grounds will also continue till the next hearing.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the court that the trial had not started yet and was nowhere in sight. Appearing for Jain, he said that Section 45 under PMLA does not apply in the case of Jain and called Jain’s arrest under PMLA arrest a violation of Vijay Madanlal judgment that upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s powers.
“There’s a violation of Vijay Madanlal itself. There’s no predicate offence because no shares are purchased by me or my wife in the check period,… Assets also remained unchanged. There’s no culpable act under PMLA,” he said.
Singhvi argued that the predicate offence is only on disproportionate assets and under Section 13(1)(e), there’s no predicate offence since his assets remain unchanged and no purchase was made. He said that not one penny travels to Jain or his wife.
He also said that there is a huge divergence in claims made by the ED and the CBI.
The Supreme Court will resume hearing the case on November 24. In October, the apex court extended his bail till November 6.
In May, Jain was granted interim bail on medical grounds for six weeks but with various conditions, including a bar on talking with the media and leaving Delhi without permission, and this had been extended till October 8.
The AAP leader had moved the top court seeking bail in money laundering cases by the ED, challenging the Delhi High Court order dismissing his bail plea. In April, the Delhi High Court dismissed the bail plea of Jain stating that the applicant is an influential person and can tamper with evidence.
