E-Paper
Delhi HC rejects AAP MP Sanjay Singh's bail plea in money laundering case
Sanjay Singh was arrested on October 4 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused bail to jailed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy 'scam'.
"No ground for grant of bail to the accused at this stage is made out," Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said as he pronounced the order, according to PTI. A detailed copy of the verdict is awaited.
Singh sought bail on the ground that he has been in custody for over three months and no role has been attributed to him in the predicate offence.
The probe agency opposed the bail plea and contended that Singh was involved in acquiring, possessing, concealing, dissipating and using proceeds of crime generated from the scam pertaining to the policy.
The 51-year-old, who was arrested on October 4 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for allegedly receiving ₹2 crore, moved the high court against a special court’s December 22 order denying him bail, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe that he was connected with the “proceeds of crime”.
Also Read | ‘First time in history’: Jailed Sanjay Singh's wife on his planned RS oath
The special court ruled there were no “irregularities” or “illegalities” in Singh’s arrest and remand. It added it was not necessary for him to either be named in the First Information Report (FIR) or be charged in the main excise policy case to be made as an accused.
The high court in October upheld Singh’s ED arrest and remand saying that it was not appropriate for it to interfere at the stage when the investigation was at a nascent stage. Singh moved the Supreme Court against the order.
The Supreme Court sought the government and ED’s response in November while ordering the special court to consider Singh’s plea for regular bail independent of the observations made in the high court’s judgement in the case filed in the interregnum.
On Tuesday, a Delhi court permitted Singh to visit Rajya Sabha, under police custody, to take oath as a member of the Upper House for a second consecutive term.
The jailed MP was on Saturday granted permission to visit Rajya Sabha on February 5. However, he was not allowed to take the oath of office as it was reportedly not listed in the House business for the day.
