President grants prosecution sanction against AAP leader Satyendar Jain in ED probe

President Droupadi Murmu granted prosecution sanctions against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe on Tuesday, February 18.

The President's sanctions came days after the Union home ministry requested Droupadi Murmu for grant of sanction to prosecute Satyendar Jain in a money-laundering case being investigated by the ED, sources had told news agency PTI.

Satyendar Jain was booked by the ED in a money-laundering case linked to alleged hawala dealings. He was arrested in May 2022. Jain held the health, power and a few other portfolios when he was taken into ED custody. He is currently out on bail and has been charge-sheeted by the ED.

The sanction against the 60-year-old politician was sought under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, sources said last week.

The ministry had requested the sanction from the president of India on the basis of an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation and the presence of "adequate proof", they added.

What's the case against Satyendar Jain

The money-laundering case against Satyendar Jain stems from an August 2017 FIR filed against Jain and others by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on charges of alleged possession of disproportionate assets.

The CBI filed a chargesheet in December 2018, stating that the alleged disproportionate assets were to the tune of ₹1.47 crore, about 217 per cent more than Jain's known sources of income during 2015-17.

The ED had earlier said its probe found that "during 2015-16, Satyendar Jain was a public servant and four companies (beneficially owned and controlled by him) received accommodation entries (hawala) to the tune of ₹4.81 crore from shell (bogus) companies against cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators through the hawala route".

"These amounts were utilised for direct purchase of agricultural land or for the repayment of loan taken for purchase of agricultural land in and around Delhi," the agency had said.

Former Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal had earlier defended Jain, saying he was as a "hardcore honest and patriot" person who was being framed in a "false case".

(With inputs from PTI)