AAP leader Satyendar Jain. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain winded up his bail arguments before a Delhi court in connection with a money laundering case against him by submitting that his only fault was that he “became a minister and got into public life” otherwise “there would be no case.”
Senior advocate N Hariharan appeared for Jain who argued before Special Judge Vikas Dhull at Rouse Avenue court. The judge will hear the ED’s arguments to the bail plea on November 5.
Hariharan began his arguments by submitting that Jain’s first bail application was dismissed since the matter was at the stage of investigation and the complaint was not yet filed. However, “this no longer stands for the bail to be dismissed.” He also apprised the court of the previous bail order which did not designate Jain as a flight risk or a risk to the witnesses since their statements were already recorded.
“Element of a fair trial is coterminous with grant of bail. I am in prolonged incarceration and it will not serve any purpose. Right of a fair trial gets affected with prolonged incarceration,” Hariharan told the court.
Hariharan added that his client was “neither a director nor a shareholder” in any of the said companies which were under investigation. “There are 4 companies. Entire case is based on two wrong assumptions. It is based on notional value to shares. No offence can be on notional value. These values are subject to change,” he told the court.
He argued that this notional value was also attributed wrongly. “My fault is I became a minister and got into public life,” Hariharan submitted.
The senior counsel told the court that the ED’s evidence “was lacking” to show that Jain was in possession of these shares. “It is not their case I (Jain) or Poonam (Jain’s wife) sold these shares. The shareholding remained the same. There was no transaction as far as these shares are concerned. How are they coming to these figures? They come to this through notional value… this cannot be done in the eyes of law,” Hariharan argued.