Delhi HC grants bail to D K Shivakumar in money laundering case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Karnataka Congress leader D K Shivakumar in connection with an alleged money laundering case.

The bail was granted on a condition that he cannot influence the witnesses or tamper with the evidence and leave the country without prior permission of the court.

The Congress leader has also been asked to make himself available for the investigation whenever necessary.

To avail the bail, Shivakumar will have to submit a personal bond of Rs 25 lakh and two surety of like amount.

Shivakumar was arrested on September 3 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and sent to judicial custody till October 25 in the Tihar jail here.

He had moved the high court after a trial court rejected his bail application by asserting that he was not entitled to avail it at that stage of the investigation.

The court while rejected his bail plea had said that the investigation is at an initial stage and the agency must get a free and fair chance to reach a logical conclusion.

The alleged money laundering case was registered against him by the ED in September last year, based on a complaint filed by the Income Tax department, alleging tax evasion and hawala transactions amounting to crores.

The I-T Department, during the initial probe, had allegedly found unaccounted and misreported wealth linked to Shivakumar.

( With inputs from ANI )