The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Delhi’s former health minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case on medical grounds for six weeks. Satyendar Jain has been in Tihar jail since his arrest in connection with a money laundering case in May last year.
The apex court said Satyendar Jain cannot leave Delhi without permission and cannot make any statement before the media. The Supreme Court allowed jailed Satyendar Jain to undergo treatment in the hospital of his choice, asking him to produce medical records.
Jain was admitted to Delhi’s Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital on Thursday after he collapsed in a bathroom of Tihar Jail due to dizziness. He was admitted to the ICU after his health deteriorated. The AAP said former Delhi minister Jain was first admitted to the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital and later shifted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital due to breathing problems. This was the second time in a week that the former minister was taken to hospital.
According to his lawyer, Satyendar Jain has lost weight by around 35 kilograms while in custody. The AAP leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in May last year for allegedly laundering money through shell companies and buying land with illegal funds. He has denied the charges and said they were politically motivated.
“We are inclined to consider interim bail on medical grounds and grant him six weeks to take medical treatment in private hospitals of his choice. He is being released on interim bail on medical grounds on conditions imposed by the trial court with the addition that he shall not influence or meet with any witnesses,” the court said. This order shall remain in operation till July 11.