Court sends former executives of Reliance Group to judicial custody till May 2 in PMLA case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday sent two former senior executives of Reliance Anil Ambani Group (RAAG), Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and Amit Bapna, to judicial custody till May 2 in an alleged bank loan fraud-linked money laundering case.

The Enforcement Directorate produced them before Special Judge Hasan Anzar on completion of their five-day remand and urged the court to send them to judicial custody for two weeks as the investigation was at a crucial stage and their release would "severely compromise" it.

Judge Anzar allowed judicial custody for the accused till May 2 but rejected the agency's submissions seeking specific directions to keep both the accused in separate cells.

“No directions are required to be given on this aspect as the same falls within the domain of the jail superintendent/authorities concerned as to how to keep both accused persons in prison, and therefore the request is rejected,” the judge said.

He noted the case file, according to which statements of Jhunjhunwala and Bapna had been recorded during the earlier five-day custodial interrogation allowed by the court.

"Perusal of the statement of the accused persons, as well as other digital evidence in the form of email, etc., would indicate that the investigation is still in progress, and certain other information has been obtained from both the accused persons." "It is submitted by the special public prosecutor for ED that some beneficiaries have also been identified, and their roles are being investigated,” the judge said.

He remanded the accused to judicial custody till May 2, considering the nature of the accusation, the stage of investigation and the material on record.

In its remand application, the agency said that during the custodial interrogation, the accused were confronted with several digital records and certain information and material had been obtained which advanced the probe.

The application said that during the investigation, vital leads had emerged, and certain beneficiaries had been identified, and their role needed to be probed.

The prosecutor said that the investigation was at a crucial stage and the premature release of the accused persons would severely compromise the ongoing efforts.

He claimed both the accused were at flight risk, had access to influential networks and financial resources, and had the individual capability of facilitating obstruction of justice, including the potential to tamper with the evidence.

The counsel for the accused denied that they were at flight risk or could tamper with evidence.