SC Disposes of Satyendar Jain's Plea against Delhi HC Decision to List His Default Bail Plea in July

The Supreme Court on Tuesday disposed of a plea filed by former Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain challenging the decision of the Delhi High Court to list after six weeks his petition seeking default bail in a money laundering case.

Stressing that bail prayers are not unnecessarily adjourned, a vacation bench presided over by Justice Manoj Misra expressed its hope and trust that the high court will take its call on Jain’s plea on July 9 i.e. the next date of hearing.

The Bench, also comprising Justice SVN Bhatti, said that it found “no merit” in submission advanced by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Jain, that the AAP leader may be released on interim bail till the question of law relating to default bail is determined by the 3-judge bench of the apex court.

The question of law as to whether an accused can be denied of his right to obtain default bail on the basis of an incomplete chargesheet filed by the investigating agency is pending adjudication before a 3-judge bench of the apex court.

Declining to tag Jain’s plea with the pending batch of petitions, the top court observed that the Delhi HC is yet to take its view in the matter and any adverse decision rendered may be corrected by filing a special leave petition before the SC.

The Delhi High Court on May 28 had issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and sought its response on Jain’s plea challenging the dismissal of his default bail request by the trial court.

A bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the high court had called for a status report from the ED in the matter and scheduled the hearing for July 9.

In his plea, Jain contended that the ED failed to complete its investigation within the statutory period and filed an incomplete prosecution complaint before the trial court in July 2022, in a bid to deny him default bail under Section 167 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

He argued that filing an incomplete chargesheet while the investigation was ongoing violates his fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution, undermining his right to default bail as per Section 167 (2) CrPC.

Earlier on March 18 this year, the Supreme Court had dismissed Jain’s regular bail petition and ordered him to forthwith surrender before the jail authorities.

Before that, the AAP leader remained out on interim medical bail for about ten months. The apex court had initially granted Jain interim relief in May 2023 for six weeks but the same was extended from time to time.

The ED's case against Jain originates from an FIR by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under Sections 13(2) and 13(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, alleging he acquired disproportionate assets between 2015 and 2017.

Additionally, the ED alleges that companies beneficially owned and controlled by Jain received Rs 4.81 crore through accommodation entries from shell companies via a hawala route.