In a major blow to Aam Aadmi Party MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra, the Punjab-Haryana High Court has rejected the petition challenging the arrest and remand order by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
MLA Jaswant Singh had filed a petition in the High Court challenging the ED’s order of arrest and subsequent remand. M/s TCL had obtained a loan and credit facility of Rs.46 crores and the petitioner was its director. After this, the ED arrested the petitioner and later the court remanded him. The petitioner alleged that this amount was transferred to other companies contrary to the terms and conditions of the loan facilities.
According to the allegation, Rs 3.12 crore was transferred to the AAP leader’s personal account. Based on the forensic audit report, RBI was informed about the fraud in the account of M/s TCL on February 9, 2018.
Thereafter, the petitioner was repeatedly asked to attend the investigation, but he did not do so. After this, ED arrested him in November 2023. He challenged this action by filing a petition in the High Court.
The petitioner contended that the material against him, including the arrest memo and Aadhaar, was sent to the competent authority after two days, when it should have been sent immediately. A division bench of Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Kirti Singh said that while there is a provision to send the material immediately after arrest, there is no mention of sending it on the day of arrest itself. In such a case, even if the material was sent after two days, it cannot be said that the prescribed provisions were not complied with.
It is also clear from the record that summons were issued to them and written grounds were also given for the arrest of Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra. In such a situation, the High Court dismissed the petition and said that we have not seen any illegality in the remand order and the subsequent proceedings.