On Wednesday, a Delhi Court dismissed Ex-Fortis Healthcare Promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh's appeal seeking to be released on bail in a money laundering case related to alleged misappropriation of funds at Religare Finvest Ltd.
Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav said the accused Shivinder Mohan Singh utilised the proceeds of crime & various acts attributed to him regarding the advancement of unsecured loans to different entities have come to the light during the investigation.
The Court noted that the amount involved in the present case is huge (Rs 2,397 crore).
The Court said that "It has been held in a catena of judgments that economic offenses constitute a class apart & needs to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail. Economic offenses having deep-rooted conspiracies & involving loss of public funds need to be viewed seriously & considered as grave offenses affecting the economy of the country as a whole & thereby causing a threat to the financial health of the country".
Therefore, the sentence which conviction may entail will not be the sole criteria to determine the gravity of the offence, the Court said agreeing with the point raised by Nitesh Rana, Special Public Prosecutor for Enforcement Directorate that in the economic offenses, it is the magnitude of the offense, which will determine the severity of the offense.
The Court also noted that as per Enforcement Directorate reply, Shivinder Singh misused the facility of provision of home-cooked food & to meet his family members for half an hour a day. The Court noted that he managed to get a mobile phone inside the jail premises. The Court noted that he used that mobile phone to talk & chat with his known persons & associates in the washroom.
The Court, in its order, said that "When the accused can indulge in such nefarious activities while being in custody, it will be reasonable to conclude that accused, if released on bail, will try to tamper with evidence & influence the witnesses".
Shivinder Singh was arrested in this case under charges of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2020. ED in Jan filed a charge sheet against Ex-Fortis Healthcare promoter Malvinder Mohan Singh, Shivinder Singh and Ex-CMD of Religare Enterprises Limited Sunil Godhwani in a money laundering case related to alleged misappropriation of funds at Religare Finvest Limited.
Enforcement Directorate had told the Court that there is enough evidence to launch proceedings against the 3 accused under the charges of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The accused are undergoing judicial custody in the case.
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