Delhi court dimisses Upendra Rai's bail plea

New Delhi, Nov 13: A Delhi Court on Tuesday (November 13) dismisses the bail plea of journalist Upendra Rai, who has been accused of being involved in dubious financial transactions. The bail plea was rejected by Delhi's Patiala House Court.

Delhi-based journalist Upendra Rai

In September, the Delhi High Court had set aside a trial court order granting bail to Upendra Rai. Rai was granted bail by the trial court in the CBI case on June 8 and, moments after he got the relief, he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the Tihar Jail.

Rai was arrested on May 3

He was arrested by the CBI on May 3 for allegedly indulging in dubious financial transactions. He is accused of getting an airport access pass made by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) by furnishing false information, alleged extortion and manipulation of an Income Tax Department case against a Mumbai-bound businessman.

The ED had registered a money laundering case against him based on the CBI FIR. It had claimed to have recovered, after searches at Rai's premises and those linked to him, call data records of a senior ED official, an IAS officer earlier posted with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, besides confidential communication between a Singapore-based Indian High Commission official and a former ED chief. The recoveries also allegedly included income tax assessment orders of various companies and suspicious transaction reports of nearly 140 firms generated by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) after joint CBI-ED searches.

Rai was arrested over alleged dubious financial transactions

The agency alleged that the scribe frequently travelled abroad to park his ill-gotten money and that his custodial interrogation was needed to unearth the larger conspiracy. The ED's application was opposed by Rai advocate Vivek Sud on the ground that the agency had already been granted enough time to interrogate the accused.

The CBI's counsel had claimed in the high court that the findings in the trial court's bail order were "utterly perverse" and the investigation was at a crucial stage. Therefore, the counsel had then said, the scribe should not be allowed bail. Rai's counsel had earlier claimed that the bail was rightly granted by the trial court and it should not have been stayed by the high court.

The SC had refused to interfere in Rai's arrest

The Supreme Court had on May 4 refused to interfere with his arrest by the CBI. In his application seeking protection from arrest, Rai had earlier claimed he was framed in the case because of his writings against an ED officer, who was part of the team probing the 2G spectrum allocation scam case.