Delhi Court grants 24-hour transit remand of AAP Leader Deepak Singla to ED in alleged money laundering case

New Delhi [India], May 19 : Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court has granted 24 hours transit remand of AAP leader Deepak Singla to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He has to be produced before a court at Panchkula, Haryana.

He has been arrested in an alleged money laundering of Rs 195 crore linked with a bank fraud. This matter is pending before the Panchkula Court.

Special Judge (CBI) Sushant Changotra granted transit remand on Monday and directed the ED to produce Deepak Singla before the local court at Panchkula by 2 PM on Tuesday.

While seeking transit remand, the counsel for ED submitted that Deepak Singla had been arrested after a search. During the search, unaccounted cash was recovered.

It was also submitted that he has been arrested in a case in which Ashok Kumar Mittal is the main accsued. Raman Singla, who is the brother of Deepak Singla, is also an Accused.

The ED alleged that the money was siphoned off through the accused firms. The accused is the director of the firm.

It was alleged that the total proceeds of crime are Rs. 195 crores. Rs. 155 crores are from bank fraud. The remaining Rs. 143 crores have to be recovered.

The money is flowing from Ashok Mittal to Deepak Singla.

It was also submitted that the investigation is completed in both CBI and ED cases. The charge sheet has already been filed, and cases are at the stage of evidence.

There is a need for transit remand so that the accused can be produced before the court, the ED submitted.

Advocate Rajat Bhardwaj, Karan Sharma and Mohd Irshad appeared for Deepak Singla and opposed the remand application.

Advocate Bhardwaj opposed the remand application by emphasising the timeline of the case, the necessity to arrest, Manner of arrest.

" Why arrest today? Necessity for arrest today, Advocate Bhardwaj questioned. Why the Accused had not been produced at Panchkula, he added

He submitted that the CBI FIR was registered in May 2018. ED's ECIR was registered in September 2019. Investigation is completed and chargesheet has been filed.

Prior permission is required for arrest in a case where an investigation has already been done, the counsel argued.

The court has to see the material. The transaction dates back to 2015 and 2016, which is ten years back, the counsel said, adding that this arrest is illegal.

The main accused was granted bail in 2023. An allegation of fraud of Rs. 155 crores, the counsel argued.

He questioned, "Where did the name of Deepak Singla come in after a period of 4 years? It is a clear-cut misrepresentation before the court."

If he were to be made an accused, he should be made in 2022. Why now? His role has already been discussed in the ECIR. Cash was already recovered in 2015 in the fraud case. The charge sheet is already filed. He was not named in the FIR or the charge sheet.

The counsel argued that the "cash recovered today. Can it be connected in that matter? The accused went nowhere; he was already there."

It is a bank fraud case. What new facts come today? Nothing can come today. The search conducted by the ED is illegal, the counsel said.

ED counsel said that there is Rs. 43 crores which has to be recovered.

The court asked the investigation officer to show the case file. He was not carrying the same. The case file is in Chandigarh. Running 2-3 thousand pages.

The court said that without seeing the case, a remand can't be granted. The judge said that I am not a post officer.

Advocate Rajat Bhardwaj said that there is nothing to show. If they do not have the case diary, then what they write about the search.

The court asked the ED to show a judgement which says transit remand can be granted without perusing the case diary.

Rajat Bhardwaj said that this is the reason ED produced the accused before this court as the Panchkula court has all the material and facts.

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