ED plea against Raut bail not taken up by HC on Thursday; hearing likely on Friday

PTI, Nov 10, 2022, 8:01 PM IST

The Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut by a special court in a money laundering case could not be heard by the Bombay High Court on Thursday due to paucity of time.

A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre said those matters that could not be taken up for hearing on Thursday shall be heard on Friday.

”I will continue the board (scheduled list of matters to be heard) tomorrow (Friday),” Justice Dangre said stated.

Soon after the special court set up under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) granted bail to Sanjay Raut and another accused in the case, businessman Pravin Raut, on Wednesday, the ED filed a petition in the HC seeking cancellation of their bail.

The anti-money laundering agency had sought the HC to grant an urgent interim stay on the bail order.

Justice Dangre had on Wednesday, however, refused to stay the special court’s order, noting she had to first hear all parties concerned.

Sanjay Raut (60) was granted bail by special PMLA judge M G Deshpande, more than three months after he was arrested in the money laundering case related to redevelopment of Patra Chawl (a chawl is rows of old tenements) in suburban Goregaon.

The Rajya Sabha member walked out of the Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai on Wednesday evening after completing all bail formalities.

The special court, in its order, had termed the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader’s arrest as ”illegal, without reason and a witch-hunt”.

The ED, in its application in the HC, said the special court’s bail order was bad in law and deserves to be set aside.

The central agency claimed the special court has failed to appreciate the evidence submitted by it in the case against the accused persons.

”The Special Court failed to appreciate that offence of money laundering is a grave economic offence which is committed by well-planned conspiracy and is as heinous, if not more than an act of murder or terrorism,” said the ED plea.