India: Court grants bail to Rajiv Aggarwal in money-laundering case

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) A Delhi court granted bail to chartered accountant Rajiv Aggarwal on Tuesday in a money-laundering case related to an alleged loan fraud involving an amount of Rs 7979.3 crore.

Special Judge Sanjay Garg granted the relief to Aggarwal, saying he had already spent 95 days in custody.

Aggarwal was arrested on September 17 in relation to the case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate in 2019.

"Though it is alleged against the applicant that the money laundered by him is of a huge magnitude, but it needs a little emphasis that the case set up by the prosecution against the applicant can only be tested during the course of trial," the court said in its order.

It said the case is primarily based on documentary evidence and voluminous record has already been seized by the investigating agency. The applicant has a permanent abode in India. It is a matter of record that he had joined the investigation on numerous occasions even prior to his arrest. Considering the same, it does not seem that there is any likelihood of his fleeing from justice, the court said.

It accepted the arguments put forward by the accused's counsel, Vijay Aggarwal, that since further investigation in the case is underway, there is no likelihood of commencement of trial in the near future.

He told the court that the offence alleged against his client was punishable with imprisonment up to seven years and the accused could not be left to languish in custody for an indefinite period.