The Supreme Court of India on Friday granted bail to Neeraj Singal, former Managing Director of Bhushan Steel Limited, in a high-profile money laundering case linked to a massive Rs 46,000 crore bank fraud.
The decision was delivered by a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar, who noted that Singal had already spent 16 months in jail, with no immediate end to the trial in sight.
While granting bail, the court imposed strict conditions, including the surrender of Singal’s passport and a prohibition on leaving India without prior permission. The court also made it clear that the prosecution could seek to revoke the bail if any conditions were violated.
Justice Khanna, addressing Singal’s legal team, expressed concern over the broader implications of financial fraud on public trust, remarking, "You shake up the market, you shake up the economy, confidence of shareholders… it's a fraud on the entire society."
Singal’s counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, argued that his client had been in custody for over a year and deserved relief. The bail plea came as an appeal against the Delhi High Court’s earlier decision in January, which had denied Singal's request for bail and upheld his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED had accused Singal of orchestrating one of India's largest bank frauds, resulting in significant losses to public funds.
The Supreme Court's order comes with a stern warning, signaling that any breach of the bail conditions could lead to the cancellation of the order.
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