The Delhi High Court on Thursday rejected a plea to suspend Satyendra Jain, currently in judicial custody after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case, as a Cabinet Minister.
The petition, filed by former BJP MLA Nand Kishore Garg, stated that Mr. Jain “is still enjoying the perks and privileges of Cabinet Minister despite having been allegedly indicted under the serious charges which may entail severe punishment”.
Rejecting the plea, a Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said, “We know our limitations. We have to obey the statutes, rules, and notifications. We cannot travel beyond that. We are not the lawmakers.”
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was arrested by the ED on May 30 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), based on a Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) disproportionate assets FIR registered against him in 2017.
The ED had in April this year attached immovable properties worth ₹4.81 crore owned by companies — Akinchan Developers Pvt. Ltd., Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd. among others — under PMLA in connection with a disproportionate asset and money laundering case registered Mr. Jain and others.
Mr. Garg, in his petition, had argued that “preferential treatment for a Minister” in judicial custody goes against Article 14 of the Constitution, pertaining to equality before the law.
The petition claimed that the factual scenario, in this case, was contrary to the provision of law applicable to the public servant who is deemed suspended immediately after the custody of more than 48 hours as per Rule 10 of The Central Civil Services (Classification, Control, and Appeal) Rules, 1965.
