The Supreme Court
on Thursday refused to entertain a plea by realtor Sanjay Chhabria against an
order of the Bombay High Court which refused to grant him default bail in the
Yes Bank money laundering case.
A bench of
Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal said the offence is serious and the
high court considered everything.
The counsel
appearing for Chhabria then withdrew the plea and the matter was dismissed as
withdrawn.
A single bench of
Justice M S Karnik on October 9 had dismissed Chhabria's petition seeking
default bail on the grounds that though the Enforcement Directorate (ED)
submitted its prosecution complaint against him within the mandatory 60-day
period, it had also sought permission from the special court to carry on
further probe in the case.
The ED's case was
that while the probe against Chhabria was complete, the investigation regarding
the case was still on.
The high court
had agreed with the agency and said the offence of money laundering involves
multiple interconnected transactions and the same demands cumbersome
investigation, and that the ED in the present case was investigating an
economic offence which demands in-depth and detailed investigation.
"The accused
undoubtedly has the right to a fair trial which is a dimension of the right to
life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. Likewise, it is
also the duty of the respondent (ED) to conduct a comprehensive and complete
investigation as regards the offence," the order had said.
"Money
laundering refers to the process of making illegally-obtained money appear
legitimate or clear in order to disguise its illicit origins. The ultimate goal
of money laundering is to integrate illicit funds into the lawful financial
system, making it challenging for authorities to trace and seize the
proceeds," the high court had said.
Money laundering
involves intricate processes designed to obfuscate the origin of
illegally-obtained funds, Justice Karnik had said, adding the complexity of a
money laundering case is determined by the intricacy and sophistication of the
methods used to disguise the illicit funds.
"Complex
money laundering cases, such as the one at hand, encompass multiple levels of
transactions. These cases typically involve intricate schemes and techniques
aimed at creating numerous layers of obfuscation, making it challenging for
investigators to unravel the true nature of the illicit funds," the HC had
said in its order.
The ED's case is
that Chhabria had played a crucial role in diverting funds procured illegally
by Yes Bank's founder Rana Kapoor and Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL)
promoter Kapil Wadhwan.
Justice Karnik
said further investigation was on with regard to the larger offence of money
laundering in the case.
"There is no
embargo for conducting any further investigation in the case by the respondent
to bring any further evidence, oral or documentary, against any accused person
involved in the offence, against which the complaint has been filed," the
HC said.
Chhabria's lawyer
had said since the investigation in the case was incomplete even after 60 days
since his arrest in the case, the accused stands to get relief of default bail.