Supreme Court Agrees To Hear ED’s Appeal Against Bail To Shivinder Singh

The Enforcement Directorate has approached the Supreme Court appealing against the bail granted to Shivinder Singh by the Delhi High Court last week.

A top court bench comprising Justice Arun Mishra, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Krishna Murari agreed to hear the petition next week and has ordered status quo. “Until further orders, status quo with respect to release from jail be maintained and impugned Judgment (Delhi High Court judgment) not to be treated as a precedent for any other case,” the court's order said.

A single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justice Anup Bhambani had last week granted bail to the former promoter of Religare Enterprises Ltd. in a money laundering case registered against him by the probe agency. The court had rejected the directorate's arguments over declining bail, stating no purpose will be served by keeping him in jail.

“As far as the possibility of the applicant committing any further offence is concerned, that ground is purely speculative and conjectural,” the high court order dated July 23 had said. “So is the possibility of the applicant offering any inducement, threat or promise to any prosecution witness or other such person.”

The high court had included a bail bond of Rs 1 crore and two sureties of Rs 25 lakh each among other conditions while granting bail. The court order wouldn't have resulted in his release as Singh continues to be under the judicial custody of the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police on allegations of fraud.

Singh and his brother Malvinder Mohan Singh have been in jail since October 2019 after they were arrested by the Delhi Police's wing. Subsequently, Shivinder was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate when he was in judicial custody.

Shivinder had later argued that he himself is a victim of fraud and offered to cooperate with the Delhi Police's wing.

In June, the Saket District court had rejected a bail plea by Shivinder Singh in the proceedings initiated by the directorate against him following which he approached the Delhi High Court. The high court noted that the records pertaining to alleged crimes have already been seized by the directorate and are in its custody. The directorate, it said, had also not given any timeline for completion of the remaining investigation and linking his release to completion of investigation will leave the keys of the custody with the probe agency.