The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case, will continue to remain behind bars till June 18 as a court on Tuesday reserved its order on his bail plea.
Special Judge Geetanjali Goel reserved the order till June 18 after hearing arguments from Jain as well the ED. On Monday, Jain's custody to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been extended by two weeks.
Seeking bail for Jain, Hariharan argued that the AAP leader meets the triple test for bail as he is not a flight risk and also the evidence is mostly documental in nature and can not be tampered with.
Jain’s counsel also submitted that witnesses have not raised any allegation of threat against him. Apprising the court that Jain has sleep apnea, his counsel also sought bail on medical grounds. Opposing the bail, ASG SV Raju argued that the investigation is still ongoing in the case and if he is granted bail, it will hinder the probe.
During the argument, the ED counsel said that Satyendar Jain cited memory loss due to Covid-19 when he was confronted with documents to show his association with entities in connection with a money laundering case.
The ASG argued that Jain had first said that he had no clue about trust in question but later changed his version to say he had nothing to do with it. “He said he hasn't heard of this trust. He then said no family member is involved...First hide, then say nothing to do with this trust. He was confronted with documents to show, what he is telling to ED, is false. From denial he's become a little better.
He then says he had Covid-19 that's why he lost his memory. When confronted with documents he comes with a defence of memory loss,” added Raju.
On May 31, a day after Jain’s arrest, a special CBI court judge Geetanjali Goel sent him to agency`s custody till June 9 which was further extended to five days ending on Monday.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital after he complained of uneasiness while leaving Rouse Avenue Court, just after court hearing on June 9.
The ED case is based on CBI one and was registered soon after CBI booked Jain and others under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The ED has recorded statements of Kolkata-based shell company operators allegedly stating that they had met in office of a CA with Satyendar Jain regarding providing accommodation entries in his companies.
The ED had arrested Satyendar Jain on May 30 in an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered by it on basis of a case lodged by CBI in August 2017 under Prevention of Corruption Act.
Jain is accused of having laundered money through at least four companies allegedly linked to him. The ED has said that Jain acquired assets from 2015 to 2017, which were “disproportionate to his known sources of income”. He is currently in judicial custody.
