Delhi High Court Grants Bail To RJD MP Amrendra Dhari Singh In Money Laundering Case Related To Fertilizers Scam

The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted bail to RJD Rajya Sabha MP Amrendra Dhari Singh in connection with a money laundering case related to the alleged fertilizers scam.

A single judge bench comprising of Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar granted bail looking into both merits of the case and also on medical grounds after noting that Singh has been suffering from cancer since 2002.

"The petitioner is in J.C. since 02.06.2021. Therefore, in view of the entire facts and circumstances, I am of the considered opinion, that the petitioner is entitled to be released on bail on merits as well as on medical grounds." The Court ordered.

CBI had registered a case on 17th May 2021 under sec. 120B, 420 IPC and Sec. 13(1)(d) r/w Sec. 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Singh and other accused persons.

It was alleged that the accused persons entered into a criminal conspiracy from 2007 to 2014 and cheated and defrauded IFFCO and Indian Potash Limited (IPL), its shareholders and the Government of India by allegedly and fraudulently importing fertilizers and other materials for fertilizer production at inflated prices by claiming higher subsidy from Government of India causing loss of several crores of rupees.

It was also alleged that they had siphoned off the commission received from the suppliers through a complex web of fake commercial transactions through multiple companies owned by the accused persons, registered outside India in order to camouflage the fraudulent transactions.

In view of this, it was alleged that Singh acted as an intermediary along with other accused for channelizing the ill-gotten money through different firms and companies and that he had allegedly received Rs. 685 Crores in the bank accounts of the group companies and individual account of Rajeev Saxena and other accused including Singh.

It was submitted on behalf of Singh that he had in no manner tampered with the evidence or influenced any witness during the last 8 years since the filing of the complaint by Nishikant Dubey and that he was always available for investigation and had even joined the enquiry conducted by FEMA since 2011.

It was also submitted that the ED failed to furnish the ground of arrest to Singh till date and that the same are not even incorporated in the arrest memo handed over to him at the time of his arrest. 

Apart from the aforesaid, it was also submitted that Singh, aged around 61 years, suffered from cancer since the year 2002 and also had numerous ailments.

Furthermore, it was submitted that there was not even an iota of allegation by the ED that Singh misused his position as a member of the Standing Committee of Fertilizers. In view of this, it was argued that mere gravity of the offence or status of an accused is no ground to deny bail.

On the other hand, the grant of bail was vehemently opposed by ASG SV Raju who submitted that Singh is a powerful and influential person and that there was all likelihood of him tampering with the evidence.

Furthermore, he submitted that the allegations of malafide are wholly irrelevant to the proceedings of PMLA which is concerned with the stand-alone offence of money laundering.

It was also argued that Singh had not co-operated in the investigation and had given an evasive reply. He also argued that Singh's medical condition was stable thereby making no case of grant of bail on medical grounds.

Looking at the facts of the case, the Court reiterated that even if the allegation was one of grave economic offence, it was not a rule that bail should be denied in every case.

Furthermore, on the aspect of medical grounds, the Court said:

"No doubt, as argued by the Ld. ASG, the condition of the petitioner is not serious and do not require immediate attention and his present condition is manageable, but one also cannot lose sight of the fact that the petitioner is a known case of cancer and is suffering from various aforementioned diseases for which he is taking medicines as submitted by Ld. Sr. counsel for the petitioner."

Therefore, bail was granted by the Court subject to furnishing of personal bond in the sum of Rs. 10 lacs with one surety of the like amount.

The Court also imposed the condition on Singh that he shall not leave the country without the permission of the Special Court and that his passport, if already not deposited, shall be deposited with such Special Court.

Earlier, his bail plea was rejected by a Delhi Court after observing that Singh was an influential person and that the investigation being at an initial stage.

Title: AMARENDRA DHARI SINGH v. DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT

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