SC orders release on bail of M3M directors in money laundering case, says ED action ‘vindictive’

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday ordered the release on bail of two directors of Gurugram-based realty group M3M, in case pertaining to money laundering. A bench of justices A S Bopanna and Sanjay Kumar, which had reserved the verdict on September 11 after hearing submissions of lawyers, granted the relief to the directors of the realty firm.

The apex court ordered the bail of Basant Bansal, and Pankaj Bansal, who had moved the top court against the July 20 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which had dismissed their bail pleas, saying the case is quite serious in nature.

The Supreme Court noted that Pankaj and Basant Bansal were summoned on 14 June for questioning in an alleged money laundering case and the duo were arrested in another case registered by the ED on the same day.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested the Bansal duo in connection with the money laundering probe linked to the alleged bribery case.

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The money laundering case in which Basant Bansal and Pankaj Bansal have been arrested pertains to an FIR filed by the anti-corruption bureau of the Haryana Police in April against Sudhir Parmar, a former special judge for ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases who was posted in Panchkula, his nephew and a third M3M group director Roop Kumar Bansal.

According to the FIR, the ED said, reliable information was received that Parmar was allegedly showing “favouritism” to accused Roop Kumar Bansal, his brother Basant Bansal and real estate firm IREO owner Lalit Goyal in the ED and CBI cases pending against them in his court.

Parmar was suspended by the Punjab and Haryana High Court after the registration of the ACB case.

The ED has said it has collected "incriminating evidence such as bank statements and money trail, etc." with respect to the allegations in the FIR before making the arrests.

The top court during the Tuesday hearing rapped the ED and asked the agency to maintain stringent standards of probity, fairness and not be vindictive in its functioning, a Hindustan Times report mentioned. 

Stating what is expected from an agency entrusted with such high powers and functions, HT quoted the bench saying, “The ED has to be transparent, above board and conform to pristine standards of fairness and probity and not be vindictive in its stand.”

The top court on August 11 had sought responses from the Centre and the Enforcement Directorate on the bail plea of the accused directors against the high court order refusing to release them on bail in the ED’s probe linked to an alleged bribery case against a former judge.