Liquor Policy Case: Delhi High Court Extends Interim Bail Granted To Businessman Sameer Mahendru By Six Weeks

The Delhi High Court has extended by six weeks the interim bail granted to businessman Sameer Mahendru on medical grounds in the money laundering case related to the implementation of previous liquor policy in national capital.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma extended the relief till September 04, subject to the terms and conditions of an earlier order passed by a vacation bench on June 12 granting six weeks of interim bail to Mahendru.

However, the court clarified that the order shall not be treated as a precedent as it has been passed on the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case.

“This Court considers it proper to record that no further extension of interim bail shall be granted on the ground as has been taken in the present application,” the court said.

Noting that the right to live with the dignity is one of the important facet of the fundamental rights, Justice Sharma said that an individual has a right to have effective and appropriate treatment as per the medical advice.

“The detention during the period of the trial, cannot be termed as a punitive measures. However, at the same time, medical grounds cannot frustrate rigours of the special laws like PMLA. In the special acts, the legislature in its wisdom has put certain restrain for the grant of the bail and therefore the interim bail never be allowed to be evergreen process,” the court added.

The court was dealing with Mahendru’s application seeking extension of the interim bail by three months. It was his case that after having undergone a spinal surgery, his condition was still not good and that the operating doctor had advised him strict bed rest for two months.

However, the application was vehemently opposed by ED by submitting that Mahendru himself had visited the ED office without any summons on three occasions during the interim bail which showed that he was able to walk and move freely.

Granting relief to Mahendru, the court said that the spinal injuries and surgeries are serious issues and recovery from the same take a long time. It added that while dealing with such issues, the courts have to balance the rights of the accused and the prosecution.

Noting that ED had not made any allegation regarding misuse of interim bail by Mahendru, Justice Sharma ordered:

“The visit of petitioner to ED officer cannot be construed against him. I consider that in view of the detailed order passed by coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 12.06.2023 and the medical record furnished by the petitioner, a further extension of six weeks i.e., 04.09.2023 is granted to the petitioner subject to the terms and conditions of order dated 12.06.2023.”

Senior Advocates Vikas Pahwa and Kirti Uppal along with Advocate Dhruv Gupta appeared for Sameer Mahendru. 

ED was represented by Zoheb Hossain and Advocates Vivek Gurnani, Kartik Sabharwal and Manisha Dubey.

Title: SAMEER MAHANDRU v. DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 622

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