SC extends interim bail of businessman Boinpally in Delhi Excise case till May 8

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday extended till May 8 the interim bail granted to Hyderabad businessman Abhishek Boinpally, an accused in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta extended the relief on a prayer by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented the businessman.

Sibal said the five-week interim bail granted to his client was coming to an end, while his main plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is scheduled for hearing in May.

On March 20, the top court had granted five-week interim bail to Boinpally owing to the condition of his wife who is suffering from various ailments. The top court had noted that the businessman has been in custody for 18 months.

It had asked him to surrender his passport and directed him to not leave the National Capital Region except for a visit to his hometown Hyderabad.

Boinpally has challenged the July 3, 2023 order of the Delhi High Court that dismissed his petition questioning the legality of his arrest on October 9, 2022.

The businessman had contested his arrest before the high court on the ground of non-compliance with section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) which deals with the procedure for arrest.

Section 19 of the PMLA empowers authorised officials of the ED to arrest persons based on material in their possession providing a reasonable basis to suspect that an individual has committed an offence punishable under the law.

The Delhi government had implemented the excise policy for 2021-22 on November 17, 2021 but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours extended to the licence holders.

The money-laundering case stems from the CBI FIR, which was lodged after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the excise policy.

It has been claimed that Boinpally was part of clandestine meetings and was involved in a conspiracy to launder money along with another accused Sameer Mahendru, a businessman dealing in liquor.