Overview
- Overturning a Delhi High Court order from August 19, 2025, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe ordered Dham’s release in the ED’s money-laundering case linked to an alleged Rs 27,000 crore bank fraud.
- The judges noted 210 prosecution witnesses and no realistic prospect of the trial starting soon, with Dham already in custody for about 16 months in a case where evidence is largely documentary.
- The court stressed that economic offences are not a homogeneous class for blanket bail denial and highlighted that the maximum PMLA sentence at issue is seven years.
- Bail terms will be set by the trial court, including surrender of passport, travel restrictions, and providing a contact number to the Enforcement Directorate.
- The ED alleges inflated assets and profits of over Rs 15,000 crore and the use of more than 500 shell entities, and it has provisionally attached Amtek Group assets exceeding Rs 5,115 crore, while the criminal proceedings continue.