A court in Delhi Friday granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case, citing "delay" in trial and "long incarceration", while also saying the Enforcement Directorate can "no longer be permitted to wish away" precious years of the life of an accused.
Jain, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on May 30, 2022 on the charge of laundering about Rs 4.5 crore money through four companies allegedly linked to him, walked out of the Tihar Jail Friday evening after spending more than 18 months in judicial custody.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne rejected the ED's request to deny the bail, saying the relief granted under Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution supersedes stringent twin conditions of section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Under the twin conditions of the PMLA, the accused has to prove in court that he/she is prima facie innocent and further convince the judge he/she would not commit any offence while on bail.
"The grounds relating to delay and long incarceration are, in effect, constitutional and plenary twin conditions sourced from Article 21 of the Constitution and therefore superior to the twin conditions under Section 45 PMLA.
"The constitutional twin conditions must necessarily have a mitigating effect on the rigours of statutory twin conditions under stringent legislations including PMLA when liberty is the core value under consideration," the judge said.
The judge further observed that the decisions in AAP leader Manish Sisodia's bail order from the Supreme Court in an alleged excise scam money laundering case, and other subsequent cases, have mandated the reading of delay and long periods of incarceration into the exercise of meeting the twin conditions under Section 45 PMLA.
The judge said that the CBI had not arrested Jain in the predicate office-related case, and it was the ED, which lodged the case based on a CBI FIR, that "lent a twist to the tale by arresting him in the allegations pertaining to Section 4 (money laundering) PMLA".
"The ED, as an agency bound by the rule of law and the settled principles governing liberty in the context of bail, can no longer be permitted to wish away precious years of the life of an accused by simple pleading that it has the prerogative to arrest," the judge said.
He added that while the CBI would ordinarily not arrest an accused, the arrest by the ED in the same case creates an awkward and unreasonable scenario.
An accused may not be either considered a flight risk or a threat or influence upon evidence or witnesses in the CBI case, but is condemned to indefinite imprisonment by the operation of the twin conditions under section 45 of the PMLA, said the judge.
The judge also noted in many investigations by the CBI and the ED, divergence has appeared as far as arrest of the accused is concerned.
"The court does not wish to remain amiss in observing that it is essentially the ED which arrogates to itself the power to determine the loss of liberty of a person simply by arresting him under the PMLA. It is a cardinal principle of the interpretation of statutes that unreasonable and awkward outcomes must be avoided.
"It is certainly an unnatural and unreasonable outcome for Satyender Jain to languish in custody for over 18 months only by operation of Section 45 when the CBI did not even arrest him in the predicate offence," the judge said.
The judge, who also issued a release warrant for Jain, granted the relief on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety of like amount.
The court also imposed various conditions on Jain, including that he will cooperate with the investigation and not try to influence or hamper the probe, and directed him to appear before the investigating officer, as well the court whenever required.
"Accused will not contact any witness, and will not travel outside India without court's prior permission," the judge said.
The moment judge pronounced the order, Jain's wife Poonam and daughter Shreya, who were present in the courtroom, broke down.
Shreya spoke to mediapersons later and said Diwali has arrived early for the family.
"We always knew this would happen and it was only a matter of time. We are happy that the court gave us justice. Diwali is approaching and we think it has come early for us this year, and we are happy and enthusiastic for him," she said.
Poonam said she had kept her hopes alive. "It was a tough time for us, but I always had faith because he has never done any wrong in his life. We have waited long."
Jain was released from the jail hours after being granted the bail.
Outside the Tihar Jail, he said he "will continue our fight against injustice and work for the common man"
The ED case stems from an FIR lodged against Jain by the CBI in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
