DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT Vs. ASHOK KUMAR JAIN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Special leave granted.

(2.) Some officials of the Enforcement Directorate under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 ('FERA' for short) conducted a raid in the residential premises of the respondent on 4.1.1997 and seized certain documents which they considered very useful for unearthing instances of large scale FERA violations. The said raid was followed by a few other raids and the Enforcement Directorate (for convenience it is referred to as "the Directorate") has now started investigation into the alleged FERA violations against the respondent involving millions of US Dollars. Summons were issued to the respondent to appear before the Directorate for interrogation. On 5.1.1997 respondent left India. Though summons were repeated many times respondent did not reciprocate to any one of them and instead he moved the Sessions Court of Delhi for anticipatory bail. In the application (for anticipatory bail) he highlighted his deteriorating health condition as the main ground for granting him bail. However, the Sessions Court dismissed the application and in so doing learned Sessions Judge made the following observations:

(3.) Respondent moved Delhi High Court challenging the aforementioned order. He made a strong plea for a pre-arrest bail order on the strength of medical reports obtained from his cardiologists. Learned single judge, though expressed his view in the order under challenge that the Directorate can arrest the respondent and carry out custodial interrogation, has passed a condition that such arrest shall be "subject to the opinion of the cardiologists of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)".