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Delhi High Court Grants Bail To Shivinder Singh In Money Laundering Case

The court granted bail on a bail bond of Rs 1 crore, two sureties of 25 lakh each, among other conditions.

Shivinder Singh is escorted by police officers from the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police building to court in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: T. Narayan/Bloomberg)
Shivinder Singh is escorted by police officers from the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police building to court in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: T. Narayan/Bloomberg)

The Delhi High Court granted bail to Shivinder Singh in an alleged money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate.

‘’As far as the possibility of the applicant committing any further offence is concerned, that ground is purely speculative and conjectural," a bench comprising Justice Anup Bhambani said, while rejecting the directorate's arguments. "So is the possibility of the applicant offering any inducement, threat or promise to any prosecution witness or other such person... the possibility of the applicant absconding also appears to be far fetched and can be addressed by imposing appropriate conditions of bail."

The court said no purpose will be served by continuing to keep Shivinder in jail as the records pertaining to alleged crimes have already been seized by the directorate and are in its custody. The directorate, it said, had also not given any timeline for completion of the remaining investigation and linking his release to completion of investigation will leave the keys of the custody with the probe agency.

The court granted bail on a bail bond of Rs 1 crore, two sureties of Rs 25 lakh each, among other conditions, according to the order pronounced on Thursday.

That, however, won't result in his release as he continues to be under the judicial custody of the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police on allegations of fraud.

Shivinder, along with his brother Malvinder Singh, has been in jail since October last year after he was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi police for allegedly diverting money from Religare Finvest Ltd. and its parent Religare Enterprises Ltd. via loans to private companies owned by them.

After the arrest, Shivinder claimed that he was a victim of fraud and offered to cooperate with the investigating agencies. While in judicial custody, Shivinder was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on allegations of money laundering.

In April, Shivinder had moved the Delhi High Court seeking release in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic. But it rejected his request.

A month later, the Saket District Court declined a bail plea by Shivinder saying that he did not pass the legal test for release on bail. After that, Shivinder again moved the Delhi High Court seeking a regular bail. The bench headed by Justice Anup Bhambani reserved the judgment on July 16.