Sanjay Singh’s bail comes less than two weeks after his party colleague and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his alleged role in the same case. Kejriwal is lodged in Tihar jail until April 15.
‘No recovery of bribe money’
During the bail hearing on Tuesday, the top court asked the ED why Singh had been in jail for over six months without a trial or recovery of alleged bribe money. The ED, in turn, declined to contest Singh’s bail. Manish Sisodia, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi is also in jail in the same case.
Also Read: Sanjay Singh bail: Supreme Court slams ED, ‘Nothing has been recovered…’
“Sanjay Singh is free on bail, because the SC hearing asked some questions on the construction of the PMLA. The Union’s lawyers informed the court that they would not oppose bail, thus obviating need for a detailed judgement that may have caused problems later for ED’s case,” Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde wrote in X.
Singh has been in Tihar jail since October last year after being arrested on money laundering charges in the alleged liquor scam. Last month, Singh was sworn in as Rajya Sabha MP from inside jail. AAP leader Atishi Marlena said Singh’s bail and the observation by the court have vindicated the party’s stand.
“First, when the Supreme Court asked the ED the whereabouts of the money trail, the ED had no answer. Second, the entire case of this so-called Excise Policy Scam with the ED is based on statements given by approvers. The first few statements given by these approvers were not considered because they did not name AAP leaders. They were pressurised and arrested till they did not name our party leaders,” she said after the bail order on Tuesday.
Stringent PMLA provisions for bail
Many party leaders said Arvind Kejriwal arrested in the case will sooner or later be proven innocent too, since, according to them, he and other AAP leaders are being framed in false cases.
Also Read: ‘Arvind Kejriwal has fooled you’, BJP dismisses Atishi’s claims, calls it AAP’s internal tussle for CM post
Though the SC bench in Singh’s bail order said that it would not be treated as a precedent, it has, however, brought to light the much-debated strict provisions in the bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), the law under which Kejriwal, Sisodia and Singh were arrested.
The bail under PMLA is not easily available due to its stringent provisions in Section 45 of the law. These provisions were added to the law during amendments in 2018.
Section 45 of the PMLA says that bail can be granted to an accused in a money laundering case only if twin conditions are satisfied – there should be prima facie satisfaction that the accused has not committed the offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail, according to legal news website LiveLaw.
These stringent bail conditions in PMLA have been debated for long.
Also Read: Lok Sabha elections 2024: What are VVPAT slips & what is the INDIA bloc’s demand on this?
“Section 45, the bail provision of the PMLA Act, is politically relevant in the present circumstances. This section was held unconstitutional by a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India in 2018 for violating Article 14 and Article 21. However, Parliament restored this provision with certain amendments which was upheld by a three-judge bench,” PDT Achary, constitutional expert and former Secretary General, Lok Sabha told LiveMint.
AAP hopeful
Singh was granted bail by the top court on Tuesday after his pleas in lower courts and the Delhi High Court were turned down.
The court has allowed Singh to participate in political activities ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024. So he can campaign for the party that has top leaders, including its chief Kejriwal, behind bars.
For obvious reasons, Singh’s bail has boosted the morale of AAP supporters who are hoping for bail for other leaders including Kejriwal, in the Supreme Court, if not in lower courts.
“The Delhi Excise Policy case judgement will fix everything that is wrong in the PMLA Law. Every unwarranted Provision of PMLA will be scrutinised and turned down by Supreme Court. Bail to Sanjay Singh is the beginning. Kejriwal and Sisodia will soon get bail too,” an AAP worker shared on X.
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Published: 02 Apr 2024, 05:46 PM IST