Rajnish Bansal vs Directorate of Enforcement

Headnote AI-drafted · Reviewed and approved

The applicant, Rajnish Bansal, Chairman of Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions and Apex Group of Professional Institutions, filed an application under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, apprehending arrest in ECIR No. SHSZO/04/2019 registered by the Directorate of Enforcement under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The ECIR was predicated upon FIR No. 133/2018 registered under Sections 409, 419, 465, 466 and 471 IPC and a subsequent CBI case relating to alleged misappropriation of Post Matric Scholarship funds for SC, ST and OBC students of Himachal Pradesh. The applicant sought anticipatory bail-like relief directing the ED to release him on bail in the event of his arrest.

The applicant contended that he had fully cooperated with the ED investigation, joined proceedings on summons issued under Section 50 of PMLA, and submitted all documents demanded. He further alleged that the Investigating Officer of the ECIR, one Vishal Deep, Assistant Director, ED, had demanded a bribe of Rs. 60 lakhs and threatened arrest. The applicant reported this to the CBI, which registered a case under Section 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, laid a trap, arrested Vishal Deep and others including a DySP of CBI, and filed a challan before a competent court at Chandigarh.

The judgment records the factual background of the case extensively, including the searches conducted by the ED under Section 17 of PMLA on multiple dates, the recording of the applicant's statements under Section 50 of PMLA, the arrest and prosecution of corrupt ED and CBI officials, and the applicant's assertion that the ED was proceeding with ulterior motive following the exposure of its officer. The court's final order is not fully reproduced in the extracted text.

Catchwords: anticipatory bail · Prevention of Money Laundering Act · ECIR · Directorate of Enforcement · Section 482 BNSS · scheduled offence · Post Matric Scholarship fraud · CBI investigation · bribery of investigating officer · Prevention of Corruption Act · Section 50 PMLA · Section 17 PMLA · trap case · money laundering