HC dismisses plea seeking suspension of jailed Delhi minister Satyender Jain

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking suspension of Delhi minister Satyendar Jain from the cabinet following his arrest in connection with a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The order was pronounced by a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad on a plea filed by former BJP MLA Nand Kishore Garg. A detailed copy of the order is awaited.

The petitioner had earlier said Jain was arrested in the money laundering case over his alleged involvement in hawala transactions in 2015-2016 with a Kolkata-based firm which is repugnant and inconsistent to the rule of law as he is a public servant having a constitutional oath to uphold the rule of law in the interest of the public.

The plea claimed that such a scenario 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.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was arrested on May 30 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and was first sent to police custody and thereafter, to judicial custody.