SC asks ex-Delhi minister Satyendar Jain not to use proceedings before it as ruse to delay trial in ED case
Supreme Court on Monday told former Delhi minister Satyendar Kumar Jain, an accused in a money laundering case, to not make pendency of the proceedings before the apex court a ruse to delay the trial in the case. A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Bela M Trivedi, which extended Jain's interim bail till October 9, made the remark after the Enforcement Directorate complained about the AAP leader seeking repeated adjournments in the trial court.
«It is made clear that pendency of proceedings before this court or any reason shall not be used as an excuse or ruse to defer proceedings before the trial court, but the petitioner would diligently take part in proceedings before the trial court and allow the case to progress,» the bench ordered.
At the outset, a counsel appearing for Jain sought a short adjournment in the case, saying senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who usually represents the former minister is unavailable.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, did not oppose the request but said Jain was seeking repeated adjournment of proceedings to delay the hearing before the trial court.
Requesting the court to order Jain to not seek any further adjournments before the trial court, Raju submitted, «As many as 16 dates have been taken in trial court just to get documents under Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (supplying copies of statements recorded by the police, relevant documents, or extracts from the documents to the accused).
They are taking adjournments and not proceeding with trial. They are also filing application after application which are frivolous.»
The counsel for Jain refuted the claim and said only three adjournments have been sought before the trial
