Delhi HC grants bail to Lava MD Hari Om Rai in money laundering case
Lava International managing director Hari Om Rai who was arrested in October last year in a money laundering case involving Vivo Mobile Communication China, and its Indian group entities.
Noting that Rai had been in custody since October 10, 2023 and the trial was at the stage of documents and charges were yet to be framed, Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said: “...the trial is not expected to end anytime in the near future and the delay is not attributable to the accused, keeping the accused in custody by using Section 45 PMLA(Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002,) a tool for incarceration or as a shackle is not permissible,” the HC said, adding liberty of an accused cannot be curtailed by Section 45 of the 2002 Act without taking all other germane considerations into account.
The case has 48 accused persons, 527 witnesses and 80,000 pages of documents, and the trial was not expected to end anytime in the near future, the judge said, adding that out of the seven accused persons who were arrested, the arrest of three persons had been declared illegal by the trial court and the other three have already been released on bail, said the court.
However, the court asked Rai not to leave Delhi National Capital Region without prior permission of the concerned court and also surrender his passport, if not already done. Rai shall regularly appear before the concerned court during the pendency of the proceedings, t directed.
The court also clarified that it has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case.
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