The Supreme Court has denied interim bail to AAP MLA Jaswant Singh Majra from Amargarh, Punjab, who sought permission to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. A vacation bench, led by Justices Sanjay Karol and Aravind Kumar, declined the request without hearing from the opposing parties, notably the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has been asked to respond to Majra’s plea.
Jaswant Singh, who is embroiled in allegations of a Rs 40 crore bank fraud, has been under investigation by both the CBI and the ED. The Punjab and Haryana High Court previously dismissed his challenge against his arrest, citing no legal faults in the proceedings.
The ED’s probe escalated in September 2022 with raids on several properties linked to Majra, resulting in the seizure of Rs 32 lakh in cash, mobile phones, and hard drives. These actions are part of a broader investigation into money laundering connected to the alleged fraud.
Punjab is scheduled to vote in the last phase of the elections on June 1. Majra’s counsel had requested his release on interim bail until June 4 to allow him to participate in the election campaign, a plea that the apex court has now denied.
