I-PAC Director Vinesh Chandel gets bail in money laundering case - What the court said

A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to political consultancy firm I-PAC director Vinesh Chandel in a money laundering case.

The court noted that the Enforcement Directorate did not oppose his bail. As a result, the twin conditions under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for granting bail did not apply.

The order came only two days after the court had rejected Chandel's interim bail plea, ruling that it did not meet the threshold of “exceptional humanitarian grounds” required for granting such relief.

Why was his bail rejected earlier?

The court observed that the rigours of Section 45 of the PMLA cannot be diluted by resorting to interim relief in the absence of demonstrably urgent grounds. It stressed that while humanitarian considerations were invoked, they must meet a high threshold of urgency and necessity, particularly in serious economic offences.

Chandel had sought interim relief, citing his 74-year-old mother's deteriorating health. She is reportedly suffering from dementia. However, the court found that the material placed on record did not disclose any sudden or life-threatening medical emergency requiring his immediate presence.

“The court remarked that dementia is a chronic and progressive condition, and the documents filed did not indicate any acute crisis that could not be managed through appropriate care and assistance.”

The court further noted that the medical records, including MRI reports and diagnoses such as hypertension, hypovitaminosis-D, dyslipidemia, fatty liver and osteoporosis, did not establish urgency. It also pointed out that the defendant had not filed any recent medical documents about his mother to corroborate claims of immediate deterioration. In the absence of such material, the plea of urgent medical necessity remained unsubstantiated.

Chandel was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in April, just ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, in connection with a money laundering investigation tied to alleged illegal coal mining and transportation in the state. He serves as a director at political consultancy firm I-PAC and owns a 33% stake in the company.

Thus, the court remanded Chandel to 14 days' judicial custody on 23 April, after he was arrested in connection with the money laundering investigation. Additional Sessions Judge Deepti Devesh had allowed the Enforcement Directorate's plea for judicial custody after the accused was produced upon expiry of his 10-day ED custody.

The probe agency alleged that I-PAC received around ₹20 crore proceeds of crime generated in the West Bengal coal mining racket through hawala channels.