The Delhi High Court Tuesday sought the Enforcement Directorate's stand in a plea moved by Indospirit MD Sameer Mahendru seeking bail on medical grounds in a money laundering probe pertaining to the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy. A single judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice to the ED, wherein the agency sought time to file their status report and to verify medical documents submitted by Mahendru. Appearing for Mahendru, senior advocate Vikram Chaudhari argued that the special court had already granted interim bail to him on February 28, which was extended and was ending on May 1 on the date when he was asked to surrender to the jail superintendent by 6 pm. He submitted that his client had already undergone gallbladder surgery and had been suggested surgery on his spine. Chaudhari said his client was suffering from "prolapse intervertebral disk", which is a "serious condition". Besides regular bail, Mahendru has also sought an extension of the interim bail by at least 12 weeks, saying that the tentative date of his surgery is May 5 and post-surgery care is required. Chaudhari said all documents with regard to his client's medical condition were with the ED. "I have been advised surgery on the spine tentatively on May 5. the minimum time post recuperation after surgery is 6-7 weeks, which actually goes on for 12 weeks," he further submitted and sought interim bail for 90 days or any time that the bench thinks fit. Chaudhari also said that his client is still "in bad shape" and placed on record the latest medical certificate of Mahendru’s condition, which was noted by the court. The matter is next listed on April 27. The ED is probing a money laundering case filed in connection with the excise policy, and Mahendru, who was arrested by the ED on September 28, 2022, is one of the 15 people named in the CBI FIR. The ED case has been registered under Section 120B Indian Penal Code and Section 7 of the PC which are the scheduled offences under the PMLA mentioned in CBI FIR. As per the ED case before the special judge, Mahendru had a partnership stake of 35 per cent in Indospirit LLP, which got a wholesale L1 licence. He also allegedly obtained two retail zone licences under the name of Khao Gali restaurants, which is under the name of his father-in-law “but (he) used to take all financial decisions in Khao Gali” and was the beneficial owner of the company, it is alleged. The ED had alleged that the profit that the company made between November 17, 2011, and August 31, 2022, of Rs 50 crore, is “nothing but an undue benefit which has been generated out of criminal activities.
