Conditions Of Triple Test Duly Satisfied: Delhi HC Grants Bail To Chanpreet Singh Rayat In Excise Policy Case

The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Chanpreet Singh Rayat, who is one of the accused in Excise Policy Scam.

The Court was dealing with a petition filed by the accused under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) read with Sections 45 and 65 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), seeking bail.

A Single Bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed, “As noted in Manish Sisodia (supra) there is no possibility of tampering of evidence by the petitioner if the petitioner is granted bail as the case is primarily dependent on documentary evidence which is already seized by the prosecution. Similarly, the apprehension regarding influencing witnesses and that of being a flight risk can be diffused by imposing stringent conditions while granting bail. Therefore, the conditions of triple test are duly satisfied by the petitioner.”

Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta represented the petitioner/accused while Advocate (Special Counsel) Zoheb Hossain represented the respondent/Directorate of Enforcement (ED).

In this case, an FIR was registered in 2022 for enquiry into the matter for irregularities in framing and implementation of the Excise Policy of GNCTD of Delhi for the year 2011- 22. The ED initiated the investigation in the case and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a chargesheet. Thereafter, the petitioner/accused was arrested in 2023 by CBI. As per the investigation conducted by the ED, the Excise Policy Scheme comprised of kickbacks/proceeds of crimes of Rs. 100 Cr. paid to the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) leaders in lieu of making favourable policy changes in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 and further created an ecosystem for generating continuous proceeds of crime in the guise of profits to the bribe givers.

The concerned AAP leaders then had channelled about 100 crore rupees through Hawala to Goa, to be used in the Election Campaign in the Assembly Elections. The AAP leaders had used various channels and persons for the transfer of these funds to Goa. The allegations made against the petitioner were that he was one of the key persons who received Rs. 45 crores in cash for further transfer and use in the Election Campaign.

The High Court in the above regard noted, “The petitioner has sought to explain Rs.12 lakhs, which were recovered from his account by stating that he had been doing odd jobs and working and this Rs.12 lakhs were part of his earnings. Furthermore, it has been explained by him that he was a freelancer working for the political parties like BJP, TMC etc., in the past. Looking at his nature of work of a freelancer for various political parties which he has been doing in the past, merely because he spent certain amount the source of which is not certain, for the campaigning events in the election of Goa, it cannot be said that there is a strong case against the petitioner.”

The Court said that there is no likelihood of the petitioner-accused committing the same offence if he is admitted to bail. It added that the twin conditions as provided in Section 45 of the PMLA, 2002 are primarily satisfied and even if it is held that these conditions are not met by the petitioner, the jurisprudence for grant of bail is that the petitioner cannot be deprived of his constitutional right of personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 especially when there is a prospect of long incarceration without the conclusion of the trial.

“It is admitted that the petitioner has been behind bars since 18.04.2024, there are around 69,000 pages of documents involved in both CBI and ED matters. Moreover, there are 493 witnesses, who have to be examined on behalf of the prosecution. In the same case, the other accused persons, namely, Manish Sisodia, K.Kavitha, and Vijay Nair have already been admitted to bail in similar circumstances”, it further noted.

The Court remarked that the petitioner stands on a better footing than the other co-accused, who have been recently granted bail.

Accordingly, the High Court granted bail to the accused on furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 5 lakhs with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Special Judge/Trial Court.

Cause Title- Chanpreet Singh Rayat v. Enforcement Directorate (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC:6943)

Appearance:

Petitioner: Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta, Advocates Chirag Madan, Ravleen Sabharwal, Rahul Agarwal, and Ronit Bose.

Respondent: Advocates Zoheb Hossain, Vivek Gurnani, Kartik Sabharwal, Abhipriya Rai, and Vivek Gaurav.

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