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Synopsis

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday refused to interfere with a Justice Bela M Trivedi led bench hearing the bail plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party Leader Satyendar Jain, in a money laundering case registered against him by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).

Senior Advocate AM Singhvi mentioned the issue before a CJI Chandrachud led bench. 

"This case was part heard before Justice AS Bopanna, now the case is listed before Justice Bela Trivedi", Singhvi told CJI asking him to look at the case papers again.

"I will not control what the judge is doing. The judge who has the case will decide. I will take a call..", the CJI said in response.

Recently, Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave had also written to the Chief Justice of India flagging the issue of reassignment of sensitive matters to a different bench other than those where the matter was first listed.

"I have personally come across a number of cases listed before various Hon’ble Benches upon first listing and/ or in which notice have been issued, being taken away from those Hon’ble Benches and listed before other Hon’ble Benches. Despite first coram being available the matters are being listed before a Hon’ble Benches in which second quorum presides..", the senior lawyer's letter stated.

As far as Jain's case is concerned, in May this year, a vacation bench of the Supreme Court had granted him interim bail on medical grounds.

Earlier, Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma of the Delhi High Court had “dismissed” the bail pleas filed by Jain and two co-accused Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain. While denying bail to Jain, the court said that the broad probability indicated that four concerned companies were "controlled and operated by Satyendar Kumar Jain". Notably, the single-judge bench on March 21 had ‘reserved orders’ in the instant bail pleas.

Special Judge Vikas Dhull of the Rouse Avenue Court on November 17, 2022 had denied bail to Jain in the money laundering case. The bail application filed by Satyendra Jain pertained to his arrest in a Money Laundering case in which he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on May 31, 2022.

In April 2022, ED attached assets worth Rs. 4.81 crores linked to Jain and his family. ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jain and others under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

It is alleged that when Jain was a public servant, companies owned and controlled by him received up to Rs. 4.81 crores from shell companies through the Hawala network.