Bombay High Court questions ED on challenging Sanjay Raut’s bail without arresting main accused

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Saturday questioned the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over seeking to cancel the bail granted to Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut while not arresting the main accused in a money laundering case concerning Goregaon’s Patra Chawl redevelopment project. 

Justice NR Borkar of the Bombay High Court asked, "You are not going to arrest the main accused? You want to keep the accused in an under trial prison.” 

Accused not being arrested cannot be a ground to grant bail to Raut

Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the bench that the main two accused not being arrested cannot be a ground to grant bail to Sanjay Raut. The ASG submitted further that they are in judicial custody in another case and their statements have been recorded while in custody, therefore there was no need to arrest them.

As per the agency’s case, in the ₹1,039 crore money laundering case, Raut has received part of the proceeds of crime in the project that never came to fruition. The company Guruashish Constructions Pvt Ltd. was in charge of the project - of which the directors are Rakesh Wadhawan, Sarang Wadhawan and Pravin Raut. It alleged that Pravin Raut transferred some amount from the ₹112 crores he benefited from the fraud, to Sanjay Raut and his wife. 

Sanjay Raut, arrested in the case on August 1, had secured bail from a special court designated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Nov 9. The special court in its order granting bail to Raut had also questioned the ED over not arresting the Wadhawans, the main accused but arresting Raut.