Supreme Court extends businessman’s temporary bail in excise case

The interim bail granted to Hyderabadi businessman Abhishek Boinpally, who is facing money laundering charges in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy fraud, was extended by the Supreme Court on Thursday till May 8.

Following a request by top attorney Kapil Sibal, who represented the client, a panel of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta granted the relief.

Sibal said that his client’s five-week interim release will soon expire and that a hearing for his primary plea against his ED arrest is planned for May.

Due to the fact that Boinpally’s wife is ill and has many conditions, the top court gave him five weeks of interim release on March 20.

The businessman has been detained for eighteen months, according to the highest court. It had instructed him to return his passport and to stay within the National Capital Region, with the exception of a trip to Hyderabad, his birthplace.

Boinpally has appealed the Delhi High Court’s July 3, 2023, ruling that denied his suit challenging the legitimacy of his October 9, 2022, arrest.

Due to his noncompliance with Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA), which governs the arrest process, the businessman had challenged his detention before the high court. Section 19 of the PMLA gives authorized ED personnel the authority to make an arrest based on evidence in their possession that gives them a good cause to believe someone has committed a crime for which they are legally responsible.

The excise policy for 2021–22 was put into effect by the Delhi government on November 17, 2021, however it was abandoned at the end of September 2022 due to accusations of corruption. The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claim that improper actions were taken while changing the excise policy and giving license holders excessive benefits.