Supreme Court judge P. K. Mishra on September 1 recused himself from hearing the bail plea of former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain in a money-laundering case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Mr. Jain on May 30 last year on the charge of laundering money through four companies allegedly linked to him.
As the matter came before the Bench headed by Justice A. S. Bopanna, he told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Mr. Jain, that it would not be able to take up the matter. "We are unable to take it up before this Bench," Justice Bopanna said.
The Bench directed that the matter be placed before Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud to get appropriate orders for reassignment to a Bench.
"Obtain orders from the Chief Justice to place it before a Bench of which one of us (Justice Mishra) is not a part," Justice Bopanna said.
At the outset, Mr. Singhvi sought a passover saying the matter needed to be heard for some time and that he would at least require an hour to argue. He urged the Bench to post the matter on any Tuesday.
The Bench directed that the interim order granting bail to Mr. Jain be extended till September 12, the next date of hearing.
On August 25, the top court had extended till September 1 the interim bail of Mr. Jain in a money-laundering case despite vehement opposition by the ED, which said medical advice tendered to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader did not warrant the relief.
The top court had on May 26 granted interim bail to Mr. Jain for six weeks on medical grounds, saying a citizen has a right to receive treatment of his choice in a private hospital at his own expense. It had extended the interim bail by five weeks on July 24.
The ED had arrested Mr. Jain on the basis of a Central Bureau of Investigation FIR registered against him in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Mr. Jain was granted regular bail by a trial court on September 6, 2019 in the case registered by the CBI.
