Jaffer Sadiq gets bail in money-laundering case

Cleared - mani
Chennai: More than a year after his arrest, Madras high court on Monday granted conditional bail to the expelled DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq in a money-laundering case. "Prolonged pre-trial detention is anathema to the Constitution, besides being in violation of basic human rights," Justice Sunder Mohan said.
The court stated that bail is the rule and jail is an exception, and said, "bail is not to be withheld as a punishment, and it would be applicable even to cases registered under the PMLA if there is long incarceration and no possibility of a speedy trial, citing a Supreme Court order.
"All the properties said to have been acquired through proceeds of crime have been attached. The investigation is complete, and the complaint has been filed in court," the judge said. The first accused, Jaffer Sadiq, was in custody from June 2024 in the instant case and was in custody from March 9, 2024, in the predicate offence. The second accused, Mohamed Saleem, was in custody from Aug 2024. The trial is not likely to be concluded in the near future, as summons to some of the accused have not been served, the court added.
"There are 19 witnesses cited by the prosecution, and several documents have been relied upon. Besides that, there are 20 accused in this case," the judge pointed out. Even according to the prosecution, the alleged offences took place since 2015. The petitioners were at large until they were arrested in 2024, except for a brief period after their arrest for the predicate offences. Therefore, the fact that further investigation is pending cannot be the reason to detain the petitioners indefinitely, the court said.
The court then directed the petitioners to execute a bond of Rs 5 lakhs each with two sureties before the special court for CBI cases and surrender their passports. The ED arrested Jaffer Sadiq on June 26, 2024, from Tihar Jail, where he was in judicial custody following his arrest by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). The NCB accused him of involvement in the smuggling of 3,500 kg of pseudoephedrine worth over Rs 2,000 crore.
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