Sukesh Chandrasekhar granted bail in AIADMK-linked money laundering case

New Delhi: A Delhi court granted bail to Sukesh Chandrasekhar in money laundering case related to the AIADMK’s “two leaves” election symbol. Chandrasekhar was accused of allegedly striking a deal of ₹50 crore to help the AIADMK faction keep the ‘two leaves’ poll symbol, regarding which a case was registered and the middleman arrested in 2017.

The case pertained to an alleged attempt to bribe an Election Commission official by AIADMK (Amma) leader TTV Dinakaran for trying to get the party’s poll symbol of ‘two leaves’ in a by-election to the R K Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu. At the time, ₹1.30 crore and two luxury cars, a BMW and a Mercedes, had been recovered from Chandrasekhar.

Accused has served ‘excessive detention’: Court
Special judge Vishal Gogne granted relied to Chandrasekhar on a personal bond and surety bond of ₹5 lakh each, saying he had already served “excessive detention”

However, Chandrasekhar will remain in jail in other pending cases lodged against him. The court noted, “Liberty being the most sacrosanct norm in our Constitution, the court cannot preach liberty from its decisions while playing footsie with the state upon the bogey of special legislation or economic offences.”

Gogne asserted that the charge of money laundering was grave in nature, but also stated that a special legislation like the PMLA (Prevention of Money-Laundering Act) is not the grouse of the state to be exacted upon the liberty of an accused through the court, PTI reported.

The special judge therefore stated that even the “existence even of 31 cases (including the present case) against the accused” could not defeat his right to bail in this particular case.

The judge said that the period of detention in the case had already crossed “the threshold of half of the period of proposed imprisonment under section 4 of the PMLA”, and highlighted that Chandrasekhar was already out on bail in 26 of the 31 cases against him.

“With the proceedings effectively being under stay, both in the predicate offence and the present complaint under PMLA for the past several years, the accused has not only served excessive detention during trial but also stands to suffer further prolonged detention without trial,” PTI cited Gogne as saying.