Delhi High Court Grants Bail to Former CFO of Seagull Group in Money Laundering Case

On 20 April 2023 ,  Delhi High Court has granted bail to the former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Seagull Group, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case. The ED had alleged that the accused was involved in routing the proceeds of crime amounting to approximately Rs. 1000 crores.

Justice Anish Dayal noted that the accused had been in custody for over six months, and that the evidence against him was largely documentary in nature, which had already been comprehensively supplied by Seagull through multiple representations to the Investigating Officer (IO). The court further observed that while the other employees of Seagull may be investigated, this should not be a reason to deny bail to the petitioner and keep him in custody pending trial.

The court relied on the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in various cases, including Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI (2022) 10 SCC 51 and Sanjay Chandra v. CBI (2012) 1 SCC 40, which have held that bail is the rule and jail is the exception, and that detention in custody pending trial could be a cause of great hardship. The court also noted that the object of bail is to secure the presence of the accused at the time of trial, and that the accused should only be kept in custody if there are reasons to believe that they might flee from justice or tamper with the evidence or threaten the witnesses.

 Accordingly, the court found it to be a fit case for grant of bail to the petitioner. The petitioner was directed to be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs. 2,00,000/- (Rupees Two Lacs Only) with one surety of the like amount subject to the satisfaction of the Ld. Trial Court, further subject to certain conditions, including reporting to the IO, through VC, every Saturday at 4:00 P.M., depositing his passport with the Ld. Trial Court, and not leaving the country without prior permission of the Court.

The court made it clear that any observation touching the merits of the case is purely for the purposes of deciding the question of grant of bail and shall not be construed as an expression on merits of the matter. The order was uploaded on the website of the court and a copy was sent to the Jail Superintendent for information and necessary compliance.

AJAY KHERA vs STATE OF GNCTD