New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted bail to RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s close aide Amit Katyal in a money laundering case linked to the alleged land-for-jobs scam in the Indian Railways, while deprecating the “pick and choose” policy adopted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The court noted that despite there being no arrest of any other accused in the case and irrespective of the fact that Katyal had joined the probe, he was arrested unceremoniously from the Indira Gandhi International Airport while he was travelling to Ranchi.
“The necessity of arrest of the petitioner (Katyal) has not been explained by the respondents.
“This in itself reflects not only a pick and choose policy of the respondent which has been deprecated by the apex court in the case of…, but also entitles the petitioner to bail on the principle that the role of the present petitioner is much less than that of the other accused persons…,” Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said.
Katyal, who was arrested by the ED on November 10, 2023 under various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), was granted bail by the high court on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10 lakh and two sureties of the like amount.
Katyal, represented by senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, had sought bail on the doctrine of parity, arguing that the ED cannot adopt a pick and choose policy which clearly showed he was being discriminated against.
The bail plea was opposed by the ED which said he was actively assisting Lalu Prasad and his family members at every step while handling the proceeds generated through alleged corrupt practices of the RJD supremo when he was the railway minister.
It said the nature of accusations in the case, the gravity of the offence, especially since it is an economic offence, need to be considered.
The high court said it is not disputed that no other accused in the ED case, even though they are the alleged main perpetrators or beneficiaries of the offence under the PMLA, have been arrested and the prosecution complaint (charge sheet) had been filed against them without their arrest.
The court observed that Katyal is not a flight risk as he has been joining the investigation throughout and at no point of time tried to evade the summons.
“There has been no endeavour by him to tamper with the evidence which is essentially documentary in nature or to influence the witnesses. The triple test for grant of bail is, therefore, satisfied by him,” it said.
The triple test includes whether an accused in a flight risk, whether the accused is likely to tamper with evidence if granted bail, and whether the accused is likely to influence witnesses if granted the relief.
It further added that the investigation regarding him has concluded and the prosecution complaint has been filed.
“He has been in judicial custody since November 10, 2023. The trial may take long to get concluded. No purpose for his further detention in judicial custody has been made out,” the high court said.
The ED has claimed that Katyal was the director of a company named AK Infosystems Private Limited, which acquired land from candidates “on behalf” of Lalu Prasad.
Some other members of the RJD supremo’s family are also accused in the case.
On May 22, a trial court had dismissed Katyal’s bail application, saying there were no sufficient grounds to grant him the relief, after which he approached the high court. PTI SKV ADS SKV SK
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