Money laundering case: SC notice to ED on Satyendar Jain's plea against Delhi HC order

Jain, who is under arrest in the case, had moved the high court challenging the September 23 order of Principal District and Sessions Judge Vinay Kumar Gupta transferring the money laundering case to another judge over alleged bias.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a plea filed by Delhi minister Satyendar Jain challenging the Delhi High Court verdict dismissing his petition against a lower court order to transfer the money laundering case to another court.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and Krishna Murari issued notice to the ED and posted the case for hearing on October 31. On October 1, the high court dismissed Jain's plea, saying all facts were duly considered by the Principal District and Sessions Judge while transferring the case, which is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and it cannot be held that the decision suffered from any illegality or needed interference.

Jain, who is under arrest in the case, had moved the high court challenging the September 23 order of Principal District and Sessions Judge Vinay Kumar Gupta transferring the money laundering case to another judge over alleged bias. The district judge's order was passed on an application for transfer moved by the anti-money laundering agency.

The agency, in its transfer application before the district judge, had argued that while there was no complaint against the judge hearing the matter, it was "a case of probable bias" in favor of the Delhi minister and there was an apprehension that it might not get an independent and impartial hearing.

The AAP leader had argued before the high court that the ED cannot be allowed to "brow beat" a judge and seek transfer of the money laundering case citing "bias" without any basis. The ED had arrested Jain and two others in the money laundering case based on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR lodged against the AAP leader in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Jain is accused of having laundered money through four companies linked to him. He has denied the allegations. (With Agency Inputs)