President Murmu Approves Prosecution Sanction Against AAP’s Satyendar Jain in ED Probe

President Murmu: The President Draupadi Murmu on Tuesday approved the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) prosecution of Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi minister Satyendra Jain under a money laundering case concerning the erstwhile Delhi excise policy.

The current event corresponds to the earlier approval that was granted by the Ministry of Home Affairs to the ED to pursue an AAP chief case. MHA had also taken the initiative to seek approval from the President for the ED prosecution.

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The Delhi High Court has directed AAP leader Satyendar Jain to respond to the plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which is seeking to defer arguments on framing charges in the money laundering case going on against him.

Justice Vikas Mahajan issued a notice to Jain concerning the application moved by the ED relating to the ongoing petition by the AAP leader.

This case has been scheduled for further mentions on March 3.

Satyendra Jain's petition

In the original petition, Jain sought deferment of charges arguing that the investigation is still incomplete. To his mind, it is in the interest of justice that charge arguments should be heard only when the investigations are complete.

In its application, the ED told the court to direct the special court to stay the hearing on charges until the supplementary prosecution complaint (chargesheet) is filed.

"To a limited extent I am agreeable to what the petitioner (Jain) is saying that till the time we file the supplementary prosecution complaint, defer the hearing on charges. No prejudice will be caused to the petitioner because that was also his prayer in the main petition," the ED's counsel told the court.

The ED's counsel also pointed out that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a supplementary chargesheet in the scheduled offence before the trial court on January 3, expanding the amount of disproportionate assets from Rs 1.47 crore to Rs 3.95 crore.

He further argued that the hearing needs to be postponed to give the ED time to file the supplementary chargesheet with regards to the developments in the case by the CBI.

Earlier, the high court had sought the ED's response on Jain's petition in which he sought postponement of arguments on framing charges against him in the money laundering case until his plea has been disposed of.

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What is the case against Satyendra Jain?

Jain faces money laundering charges through four companies supposedly related to him, and the ED, after arresting him on May 30, 2022, granted him bail by the trial court on October 18, 2024.

The former Delhi health minister has challenged the trial court's order of September 4, 2024, that declined his request to defer arguments regarding the framing of charges.

In his petition, Jain explained that since the investigation is ongoing, it would serve the interest of justice for the arguments on charges to be heard only once the probe 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," Jain said in his plea.

The ED prisoned Jain under the money laundering case relying on the CBI FIR registered against him in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Jain was granted regular bail by way of the trial court in the CBI case on September 6, 2019.

The prosecution complaint filed by the ED in connection with the money laundering case against Jain, his wife, and eight others, including four companies, was taken cognizance of by the trial court in 2022.

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