Court stays bail proceedings in Satyender Jain's money laundering case

A court here on Monday stayed the proceedings in the bail hearing of Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case.

Principal District and Sessions Judge Vinay Kumar Gupta passed the directions while issuing notice to Jain and other co-accused in the case on an application of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking transfer of the case to another judge.

The judge directed the respondents to file their reply to ED's plea by September 30 and stayed the proceedings before Special Judge Geetanjali Goel till further order.

The probe agency has sought the transfer of the matter from Special Judge Goel to any other judge.

The agency, in its plea, has raised certain contentions related to the bail arguments being heard by the special judge.

Goel, while hearing the lengthy arguments on the bail petitions of Jain and the other two co-accused - Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain - in the money laundering case, had pulled up the agency over its probe in the matter in the past few hearings.

All three accused are currently in judicial custody.

The ED had arrested Satyendar Jain and two others in a money laundering case based on a CBI FIR lodged against the AAP leader in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act, under which he was accused of having laundered money through four companies allegedly linked to him.

Special Judge Goel had earlier allowed the application moved by the ED seeking permission to question Satyendar Jain in the excise policy case, following which the agency quizzed Jain on September 16 inside the jail.

Recently the court also took cognisance of the Prosecution Complaint (charge sheet) filed by the ED against Satyendar Jain, his wife, and eight others including four firms in connection with the money laundering case.