Delhi High Court Requests Amit Katyal’s Response to ED’s Interim Bail Challenge

The Delhi High Court has called for businessman Amit Katyal to respond to a petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the interim bail granted to him. Katyal has been on interim bail on medical grounds since February 5, 2024. He is a defendant in the Land for Jobs money laundering case, along with former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma has instructed Amit Katyal to submit a reply and has scheduled the matter for a hearing on March 4.

The Enforcement Directorate has contested the trial court’s decision granting interim bail to Katyal on February 5, 2024. The Rouse Avenue court had previously granted Katyal four weeks of interim bail. His request for an extension of interim bail is set for a hearing on March 5. Katyal was arrested by the ED in connection with the land-for-job money laundering case. He had requested interim bail on medical grounds.

On January 8, 2024, the Enforcement Directorate filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against Katyal, Rabri Devi, Misha Bharti, Hema Yadav, Hridyanand Chaudhary, and two companies, namely M/s A K Infosystems Private Limited and M/s A B Exports Pvt. Ltd., before the Rouse Avenue Court. The court took cognizance of the PC on January 27, 2024, and issued notices to the accused persons to appear on February 9, 2024, for further trial.

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The ED commenced investigations based on an FIR filed by the CBI regarding the Land for Job Scam. The FIR alleged corruption by Lalu Prasad Yadav, the then Railway Minister, in the appointment of Group D substitutes in Indian Railways between 2004 and 2009. According to the FIR, candidates were instructed to transfer land as a bribe in exchange for jobs in Indian Railways. The CBI also filed a charge sheet. The ED alleges that family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav, including Rabri Devi, Misha Bharti, and Hema Yadav, who are accused in the PC, received land parcels from the families of selected candidates for nominal amounts.

Hridyanand Chaudhary, another accused in the PC, is a former employee in Rabri Devi’s Gaushala, who acquired the property from one of the candidates and later transferred it to Hema Yadav. The companies, M/s A K Infosystems Private Limited and M/s A B Exports Pvt. Ltd., were identified as shell companies that received proceeds of crime for the family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav, according to the ED. The statement further stated that immovable properties were acquired in these companies by frontmen, and shares were subsequently transferred to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family members for nominal amounts.

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