The Sessions court in Delhi on Monday put on hold the proceedings against former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in a case of alleged money laundering. The Delhi court’s decision came following an application moved by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking the transfer of the entire proceedings.
The ED’s application, filed on September 15, seeking the transfer of proceedings from the court of Special Judge Geetanjali Goel came at a time when the hearing was in its final stages, Jain’s lawyers were wrapping up their arguments and the ED was itself seeking an additional date to address further arguments.
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On Monday, the District and Sessions court was apprised of the application following which a notice was issued to the respondents in this case. The matter will be heard on September 30.
Advocate Sushil Kumar Gupta, who represents two of the accused in the case, accepted the notice on behalf of his clients but expressed surprise over the fact that the ED had sought transfer of the entire trial in this case.
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“We were given the impression that this was on transfer or bail application,” said Gupta while asking the court to provide a short date since the bail application was being heard for 40 days and was “in its final leg”, reported The Indian Express.
Jain was arrested by the ED in connection with a case based on a CBI FIR lodged against him in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The AAP leader has been accused of money laundering through four companies allegedly linked to him in the FIR.
Notably, Special Judge Geetanjali Goel had been critical of the agency during the past few hearings for Jain’s bail and even pulled up the central agency over its investigation in the case.
The judge had questioned the ED for going beyond the CBI case by investigating alleged proceeds of crime not even mentioned in the charge sheet. Judge Goel had also sought an explanation on the criminality in the case, remarking at one point that the companies said to be cheated by the AAP leader were also named as accused.
The ED had on September 13 sought adjournment to address further arguments in this case. The bail hearing began on August 20 after the ED filed its written submissions opposing Jain’s plea. The court is also hearing the bail applications of co-accused in the case, Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain.
The CBI’s 2017 charge-sheet accuses Jain of allegedly amassing assets worth Rs 1.47 crore disproportionate to his known sources of income. The ED, which later began its probe into the money-laundering angle, has so far attached properties worth Rs 4.81 crore in connection with its ongoing probe.