The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to Chhattisgarh businessman Sunil Dammani in a money laundering case related to Mahadev betting app. Dammani was arrested by the ED (Enforcement Directorate) in August last year. During the hearing of the case, the bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra canceled the order of Chhattisgarh High Court in which Dammani was denied bail.
The top court said that ‘Dammani is in custody since August 23, 2023 and without saying anything on the merits of the case, we are of the view that the appellant may be released on bail subject to the bail conditions.’
The bench said, ‘If there is no need for any further investigation, the appellant is ordered to be released on bail. In this case, they will have to register their presence in the ED office in the concerned district every 15 days. Also, he will not go out of the country without the prior permission of the trial court.
As soon as the hearing began, Dammani’s lawyer senior advocate Vikas Pahwa told the court that the businessman has been in jail for 14 months. He said that the main accused has not joined the investigation and the trial in the case has not yet started.
Advocate Zoheb Hussain, appearing for the ED, argued that there are 45 accused in the case and businessman Sunil Dammani is a hawala operator who is accused of illegally repatriating criminal proceeds worth more than Rs 5,000 crore. The investigating agency opposed the bail plea saying that the main conspirator is absconding and a Red Corner Notice has been issued against him.
However, the top court took note of the fact that Dammani has been in jail since August last year. The court said it was granting him bail without considering the merits of the charges and keeping in mind the fact that the charge sheet has already been filed by the ED.
The top court was hearing an appeal filed by Dammani, challenging the high court’s July 26 order rejecting his bail plea. On August 23 last year, the ED had arrested Dammani along with three other accused for their alleged complicity in a money laundering case related to Mahadev App.
The Central Investigation Agency had then also searched the premises associated with 10 people, including Vinod Verma, political advisor to former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. Apart from Dammani, his brother Anil Dammani, Chhattisgarh Police Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Chandra Bhushan Verma and Satish Chandrakar (all residents of Raipur) were arrested in this case.
According to the ED, the Dammani brothers owned a jewelery shop and a petrol pump and allegedly had a role in hawala transactions. ASI Verma allegedly took money from other accused to protect them from police action and it is also suspected that he had given money to other police officers also.
