Court dismisses former BPSL CMD Singal's bail plea

A Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed the bail application of former Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL) CMD Sanjay Singal in a multi-crore money laundering case linked to an alleged bank loan fraud.

Special judge Arun Bhardwaj denied the relief to Singal saying the quantum of amount involved in the case and the role allegedly played by him do not entitle him to bail.

"Such offences have deleterious effect on the economy of the country which ultimately effects everyone and have worse effects for the last man in the row.

"Considering the allegation of deletion of electronic data by the accused, the quantum of amount involved in the case and the role played by him, in the opinion of this court the applicant is not entitled to bail," the court said.

During the hearing, ED's Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana had opposed the bail plea and told the court that Singal had given evasive and incorrect answers during his interrogation and was not cooperating in the probe.

Rana further said that the proceeds of crime were yet to be identified.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the accused, had told the court that while he was in ED custody, no further investigation has been conducted through the accused.

Singal was placed under arrest on November 22 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after he was questioned in connection with the case.

Singal was arrested as he was not cooperating in the probe.

The ED recently attached assets worth Rs 4,025 crore of BPSL.

Advocate A R Aditya, also appearing for the ED, has said, "An amount of Rs 695.14 crore was introduced as capital by Sanjay Singal (the then CMD of the company) and his family members in BPSL out of artificially generated long-term capital gains (LTCG) by diversion of bank loans fund of BPSL.