Special court releases IRS officer Sachin Sawant’s father and brother on bail bond

A special court has granted bail to the father and brother of Indian Revenue Service officer Sachin Sawant in a money laundering case. The court released them on a bail bond under section 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Sawant himself was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in June for allegedly generating ₹4.11 crore from illegal sources of income. The court directed the father and brother to be released on provisional cash security of ₹50,000 each, with conditions. The case is based on an FIR registered by the CBI alleging disproportionate assets.

A special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) recently released on a bail bond the father and brother of Indian Revenue Service officer Sachin Sawant who is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a disproportionate assets case.

Special court releases IRS officer Sachin Sawant’s father and brother on bail bond

The court granted the request made by the petitioners - Balasaheb Sawant and his son Sandeep - under section 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Sawant was an additional commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax and Central Excise, in Lucknow. He was arrested by ED in June after the agency carried out searches at his premises, including in Mumbai.

The agency has claimed that Sawant had allegedly generated ₹4.11 crore from illegal sources of income. Apart from Sawant, ED’s chargesheet has named his friend, his father, his brother and two firms - Seven Hills Constrowell Private Limited and ThreeG ID Technology Private Limited.

Sawant’s father and brother contended in their petition that they were not arrested during the ED investigation and that they were innocent.

ED’s counsel opposed their plea arguing that the chargesheet had specified their roles in the case and that they were accused of colluding with other co-accused to assist Sawant in laundering the proceeds of crime.

The court, however, said if there was no cause to arrest the duo during the course of investigation, a chargesheet could not be an ipso-facto (by the fact itself) cause to arrest the petitioners. Therefore, their application was qualified under section 88 of CrPC, the court said.

Both the accused were directed by the court to be released on provisional cash security of ₹50,000 each, on condition to furnish the surety within four weeks. The court also asked the duo to give an undertaking that they would not tamper with the evidence and would not pressure the witnesses. They were also asked not to travel abroad without prior permission of the court.

ED’s probe is based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI alleged that Sawant had amassed many assets in his name and in the names of his family members which were disproportionate to the tune of ₹2.45 crore to their legal sources of income from January 12, 2011, to August 31, 2020.