Former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain
Satyendar Jain, a jailed former Delhi minister, was granted medically necessary six-week interim bail by the Supreme Court on Friday. Satyendar Jain had fallen in Tihar Jail the day before and had been rushed to the intensive care unit of a government hospital.
Since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in May of last year in connection with a money laundering investigation, the Aam Aadmi Party leader has been detained at Tihar Prison.
Jain, 58, was permitted to receive treatment in the hospital of his choosing by a panel of judges led by Justices JK Maheshwari and PS Narasimha, who also ordered him to provide his medical records by July 10. Jain was also instructed not to speak with the media while on his temporary release, which expires on July 11.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Jain, said the former minister has lost 35 kg and is suffering from a spine problem.
For the ED, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju requested that Jain be examined by a group of medical professionals at the Meera Manohar Lohia Hospital or the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The investigation agency won’t object to therapy if medical reports recommend it, he said.
He claimed that Jain had previously filed requests for bail based on medical justifications in the case, but those requests were later withdrawn when the agency demanded that Jain be examined by an AIIMS or RML hospital medical board.
“He was health minister and jail minister of Delhi. He needs to be examined at a hospital that was not under him,” Raju said, claiming earlier medical reports prepared by hospitals were found to be fake.
The bench said it is considering enlarging Jain on medical bail but would look into his examination by doctors of either AIIMS or RML hospital on the next date of hearing.
On Thursday, Jain was first admitted to the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital and later shifted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital due to breathing problems, AAP leaders said.
He was “critically ill”, they said.
The LNJP Hospital is the largest hospital under the Delhi government.
The former minister, who passed out in a Tihar Prison bathroom, had been rushed to the hospital twice in the previous week. Jain had previously fallen in the loo and hurt his spine badly, according to the AAP.
The top court requested the ED’s response to Jain’s plea on May 18. It gave notice to the ED, gave Jain permission to approach the vacation bench for relief, and ordered an urgent listing of his case.
The Delhi High Court denied Jain’s request for bail in the money laundering case on April 6, noting that the witnesses had identified him as the conceptualizer, instigator, and source of funds for the alleged crime.
The high court said the senior AAP leader was an influential person having the potential to tamper with evidence.
The ED arrested Jain on May 30 last year on the charge of laundering money through four companies allegedly linked to him. The arrest took place in the aftermath of a CBI FIR registered against him in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
He was granted regular bail by the trial court on September 6, 2019 in the case registered by the CBI.
In 2022, the trial court took cognisance of the prosecution complaint (ED version of charge sheet) filed by the federal probe agency against Jain, his wife and eight others, including the four firms, in connection with the money laundering case.
On November 17 last year, the trial court dismissed the bail pleas of Jain and two others in the case.
It said Jain was prima facie involved in concealing the proceeds of crime.
Besides him, the trial court also denied bail to Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain, saying they “knowingly” assisted Satyendar Jain in concealing the proceeds of crime and were “prima facie guilty” of money laundering.
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