Peeyush Jain Vs Enforcement Director (Rajasthan High Court)
Summary: The Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur Bench, dismissed the regular bail application filed by Peeyush Jain under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in proceedings initiated under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The order, pronounced on 11 June 2024 by Justice Praveer Bhatnagar, arose from an Enforcement Directorate investigation connected with allegations of corruption in the processing of bills relating to public works undertaken by tubewell businesses. The petitioner had been arrested on 29 February 2024. He challenged the justification for his arrest and continued detention, maintaining that the investigating authorities had failed to establish his involvement in either the alleged predicate offences or money laundering.
The underlying investigation originated from FIR No. 215/2023 registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau concerning alleged offences under Sections 7 and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code. The allegations related to payments allegedly made to public officials in connection with works and bills of M/s Shyam Tubewell Company and M/s Ganpati Tubewell Company. The Enforcement Directorate subsequently registered ECIR/JPZO/29/2023 on 21 August 2023 under the PMLA. The petitioner contended that the predicate offence investigation had not established his participation and that the Enforcement Directorate had improperly treated transactions involving his father and associated businesses as proceeds of crime.
