The Delhi High Court Thursday dismissed a plea seeking suspension of Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, who is in jail after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case, as a cabinet minister. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad rejected the plea by former BJP MLA Nand Kishore Garg.
"We know our limitations. We have to obey the statutes, rules, and notifications. We cannot travel beyond that. We are not the lawmakers," the bench said. The petition said Jain was arrested in the money laundering case on the allegation of his involvement in hawala transactions in 2015-2016 with a Kolkata-based firm which is repugnant and inconsistent with the rule of law as he is a public servant having a constitutional oath to uphold the rule of law in the interest of the public at large.
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"However, the minister under custody is still enjoying the perks and privileges of cabinet minister despite having been allegedly indicted under the serious charges which may entail severe punishment," the petitioner, through advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi, said. The plea claimed the factual scenario, in this case, is also contrary to the provision of law applicable to the public servant who is deemed suspended immediately after the custody of more than 48 hours as per Rule 10 of The Central Civil Services (Classification, Control, and Appeal) Rules, 1965.
"Further, the preferential treatment for minister under custody strikes to Article 14 of the Constitution," it said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was arrested on May 30 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and was first sent to police custody and thereafter in judicial custody. The ED had earlier provisionally attached assets worth Rs 4.81 crore of Jain's family and companies "beneficially owned and controlled" by him as part of a money-laundering probe against him.
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