Karnataka Congress leader and MLA DK Shivakumar has been granted bail by the Delhi High Court in connection with the money laundering case.
According to the reports, Delhi Hight Court has ordered that DK Shivakumar cannot leave India without the court’s permission. The Delhi HC also asked him to assist the investigative agencies in their probe. He was asked to furnish a bail bond of Rs 25 lakh plus two sureties to obtain the bail.
The order was passed by a Single Judge Bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait.
DK Shivakumar had moved the High Court for bail last month after his bail was rejected by a special CBI Court. DK Shivakumar was sent to 14-days of judicial custody on September 17. Later, his custody was then further extended till October 25.
Earlier in the day, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi had visited the accused DK Shivakumar in the Tihar Jail. Reportedly, Sonia Gandhi assured DK Shivakumar that the party is with him and will stand in his support. Sonia Gandhi told him this is a case of “political vendetta” and other Congress leaders are also being targeted by the BJP government at the centre.
Congress troubleshooter DK Shivakumar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 3 after undergoing four days of interrogation in relation to the case. The ED had cited Shivakumar’s non-cooperation during the questioning as the reason for his arrest.
The alleged money laundering by DK Shivakumar came to light after raids by the tax officials on August 2, 2017, on Shivakumar’s residence in New Delhi, which led to the seizure of unaccounted cash worth Rs.8.59 crore without evidence of its source of income.
The tax agencies had filed cases against Shivakumar and four other persons associated with him under Sections 277 and 278 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and Sections 120(B), 193 and 199 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).