SC grants interim bail on medical grounds to AAP leader Satyendar Jain

New Delhi, May 26 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail for six weeks to Satyendar Jain, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former cabinet minister in the Delhi government, on medical grounds.

A bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and P.S. Narasimha granted interim bail for six weeks to Jain to get treated in a private hospital of his choice and added that the bail will be subject to conditions imposed by the trial court.

The bench said Jain should not go to the media to make any statement on the issue and stressed that he should also not attempt to influence witnesses in the case.

The top court turned down the Enforcement Directorate (ED) plea that Jain should be first examined by a panel of doctors in AIIMS.

The top court will take up the matter in the second week of July, when it will consider Jain's medical reports. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented Jain and additional solicitor general S.V. Raju represented the ED.

On May 18, Singhvi had submitted before the apex court that his client has extreme health problems, he has lost over 30 kgs and is a skeleton now.

In April this year, the Delhi High Court had dismissed bail pleas of Jain and his two aides in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said that Jain is an influential person and cannot be said to have satisfied the twin conditions for bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"The simple fact is the CBI has filed a case of disproportionate assets (DA). The present court cannot go into the validity of these proceedings. Facts show that certain DA were masked. The court has to see the prima facie case. The broad probabilities indicate that the companies associated with him are controlled and managed by him. Learned special judge order (rejecting bail to Jain) does not have any perversity. Order is well reasoned," the judge said.

Jain has been in custody since May 30 last year. A trial court had on November 17, 2022, dismissed the leader's bail application.