Punjab and Haryana High Court relies on SC's Arvind Kejriwal order to grant interim bail to Congress leader

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to Congress leader and former Forest Minister for Punjab Sadhu Singh Dharamsot in a money laundering case in order to enable him to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections [Sadhu Singh Dharamsot v Directorate of Enforcement].The Court relied on the Supreme Court's order granting interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal till June 1..Justice Vikas Bahl noted that Dharamsot had been granted bail in two other cases under the Act and had not misused this concession.Further, the Court observed that Dharamsot did not belong to the ruling party and, therefore, was not in a position to influence the investigation or tamper with evidence. Furthermore, it noted that he was a five-time ex-Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), had served as a Cabinet Minister, and had been associated with the Indian National Congress (INC) since 1992.Additionally, the Court highlighted that Dharamsot had not skipped any summons.Therefore, it ruled that Dharamsot deserved the same benefit as Kejriwal..The Court, therefore, ordered the release of Dharamsot till June 6 upon furnishing a bail bond of ₹50,000, along with one surety of the same amount. Additionally, he was instructed not to comment on his role in the cases or influence any witnesses. He is also prohibited from leaving the country..Dharamsot was booked and arrested in two cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in relation to the irregularities committed in the Forest Department of Punjab and for assets disproportionate to his income. Subsequently, Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered against him leading to his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 15 this year. .Dharamsot was represented by Senior Advocate APS Deol and advocates Vishal Rattan Lamba, Himmat Singh Deol, Sumer Singh Boparai, Arun Kumar Goyat, Karan Kalia, Dharam Pal and Swati Katoch..ED was represented by Deputy Solicitor General Jagjot Singh Lalli and advocates Lokesh Narang and Manish Verma..[Read Order]