Delhi High Court has arrested accused Arun Muthu, B. in the Rs 217 crore extortion case involving alleged swindler Sukesh Chandrashekhar. Mohanraj, Sudhir and Kamlesh Kothari have been granted bail. The court said that all four have been in judicial custody for a long time and the trial in this complex case involving 24 accused and 403 witnesses is unlikely to be completed soon. In such a situation, there is a basis for granting him bail.
Court’s comment on Arun Muthu’s role
A single bench of Justice Prateek Jalan said that according to the prosecution, Arun Muthu was not directly involved in the extortion incident. He is accused of managing the alleged crime proceeds, purchasing properties and luxury cars, conducting financial transactions, making banking entries for Leena’s firm and helping in the production of web series for Sukesh Chandrashekhar and Leena Palos. The prosecution claims that he received 2.5 percent commission in return for these services.
Prima facie no basis for role beyond money management
The court said that based on the available records, there was prima facie no concrete evidence to hold that Arun Muthu’s role was wider than alleged money management. The Court held that bail was appropriate considering the long period of detention, complexity of the case and possible delay in trial.
Bail order will not affect the trial
The High Court clarified that the observations made in the bail order are limited only to the disposal of the bail petition. These will not be considered to have any impact on the merits of the case or the final hearing. On this basis, co-accused B. Mohanraj, Sudhir and Kamlesh Kothari were also given relief.
Leena Palos did not get relief
The court also clarified that the case of co-accused Leena Palos is different. His bail plea was rejected in May. The court had then said that prima facie she was at the center of the alleged organized crime syndicate, hence her case was considered different from that of other accused.
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