Delhi HC relies on SC verdicts, grants bail to businessman Sameer Mahendru

The court of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, while ordering for businessman Mahendru’s release, recorded that taking a “prima facie view of the role as defined of the applicant in the case, it can be observed that the twin test of guilt for the offence of money laundering or likely to commit any offence are weak”.

The ED has claimed that Mahendru is the “kingpin” of the scam, alleging that he “used proxy/dummy persons to conceal the real owner of his businesses”.

Mahendru had a 35 per cent partnership stake in Indospirit LLP, which got a wholesale L-1 licence. The ED has alleged that Mahendru was directly or indirectly controlling manufacturing, wholesale and retail businesses in violation of the excise policy. Rayat had, meanwhile, allegedly handled funds for AAP’s campaign in the 2022 Goa elections.

Referring to the Supreme Court recently releasing AAP’s Manish Sisodia as well as other accused – Kalvakuntala Kavitha and Vijay Nair – on bail in the same case, Justice Krishna reiterated the right to liberty guaranteed under Article 21.

Justice Krishna recorded, “In the present case as well, in the light of the observations of the Apex Court in Manish Sisodia and in the bail applications of the other co-accused, it is now well defined that Article 21 of the Constitution shall take precedence over the twin test and if the trial would take long, the accused shall be entitled to bail.”

“In all these cases, a reference has been made to the ED as well as the CBI case… there are 492 witnesses who have been named. The case involves thousands of pages of documents and over a lakh of digitised documents… there is not even a remotest possibility of the trial being concluded in the near future. Considering that the applicant is in judicial custody since 28.09.2022… and with a little hope of speedy completion of trial, he would be deprived of his right to liberty under Article 21 and is therefore entitled to grant of bail,” Justice Krishna observed.

Justice Krishna went on to rely on the SC’s Sisodia bail verdict while dismissing ED’s submission that the accused are indulging in tactics to delay the trial by filing multiple applications in court.

“…though the applications are being filed on behalf of the accused, the conduct of the accused cannot be termed as vexatious or intended to delay. They were merely exercising their rights of fair trial by seeking the documents relied and unrelied by the prosecution for their defense. It cannot be said that there is any delay which is attributable to the applicant; rather it is the complexity of the matter, voluminous records and the number of witnesses which are required to be considered in the trial, which would take a reasonable time,” the court recorded.

The court also ruled that Mahendru is not a flight risk or is not likely to tamper with evidence.

With the release of Mahendru and Rayat, Kejriwal, owner of Brindco Sales Private Limited Amandeep Singh Dhall, alleged hawala operator Vinod Chauhan and Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramachandra Pillai are still in jail in connection to the case.