The Supreme Court, on Friday, decided to extend the interim bail granted to former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain until September 12 in a money laundering case. This extension came about after the case was adjourned due to Justice PK Mishra recusing himself from the hearing.
Jain, who is currently recovering from a spinal operation, had initially been granted interim medical bail on May 26 and had requested an extension for his post-surgery recuperation.
However, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposed this request, insisting on his surrender and the independent evaluation of his medical condition by a medical board from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
The case was presented before a bench consisting of Justices AS Bopanna and Prashant Kumar Mishra on Friday. During the proceedings, Justice Mishra expressed his desire to step aside from the case.
In response, Justice Bopanna directed the matter to be referred to Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud to form a bench that did not include Justice Mishra. Until the next hearing date, the Court instructed that the interim bail should continue.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Jain along with advocate Vivek Jain, informed the Court of the urgency of the case and requested a fixed date for the following week.
The bench then scheduled the next hearing for September 12.
In a previous hearing, Jain presented his latest medical reports, which recommended physiotherapy and aquatic exercises with movement restrictions. The ED had offered to provide all necessary medical treatment in custody, including access to a swimming pool for aquatic exercises, but continued to insist on his surrender, arguing that there was no medical justification for extending his bail.
The ED had arrested Jain on May 30 the previous year on charges of money laundering through four companies allegedly connected to him.
