Delhi HC seeks ED's reply on Satyendra Jain's plea to delay trial hearing

The Delhi High Court, on Tuesday, issued a notice and sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding a petition filed by former Delhi Cabinet Minister Satyendra Jain.

The petition seeks the deferral of hearing on the charges in the trial court. Jain's counsel argued that the investigation in the case is still ongoing and has not yet concluded.

The bench, led by Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri, scheduled the next hearing for December 10, but refused to grant any stay on the trial court proceedings in the meantime.

Jain through plea submitted that submitted that the investigation is continuing, and, thus, it would be in the interest of justice that arguments on charge are heard only once the investigation is complete. If the investigating agency is in possession of material which may exculpate the accused in any manner, the court is bound to consider such material at the time of forming a prima-facie view.

It further stated that as per the status report of the CBI in the predicate offence, further investigation regarding multiple transactions by collection of records from numerous departments and examination of witnesses from different strata of society is to be conducted and it involves voluminous records.

The outcome of the further investigation would be significant with regard to the proceeds of crime.

On October 18, the trial court granted bail to Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case, noting that "the trial is yet to begin, let alone conclude." The court also cited Jain's prolonged incarceration of 18 months as a factor in its decision.

Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in May 2022, with the agency accusing him of laundering the proceeds of crime through four companies allegedly connected to him.