ED seeks transfer of Satyendar Jain's bail plea to another court

New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday moved an application for the transfer of the bail plea of arrested Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain from the present court.

The bail application filed by Jain is in connection with his arrest in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case being probed by the ED.

As per the court order, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, representing the ED, submitted that he has instructions to move an application for transfer of the bail application (of Jain) and he has requested a short adjournment for the same.

After taking his submission, Special Judge Geetanjali Goel slated the matter for further hearing on September 20.

Jain, whose bail has been denied in various hearings since his arrest in the PMLA case on May 30, is presently lodged in Tihar jail.

As per the earlier submissions of the ED, Jain was in de facto control of shell companies used for alleged money laundering, and co-accused Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain were just dummies.

On the other hand, Jain's counsel argued that the alleged role attributed to him doesn't fall in the ambit of Section 45 of the PMLA.

Earlier, the CBI had accused Jain, his wife, and others of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. On March 31, the ED provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to companies beneficially owned and controlled by the minister.

On June 6, the ED conducted raids at multiple locations belonging to Jain, his wife and his accomplices, who had either directly or indirectly assisted him or participated in the processes of money laundering. A recovery of Rs 2.85 crore in cash and 133 gold coins weighing 1.80 kg was made during the raid.