West Bengal Mining PMLA case: Delhi HC grants bail to Gurupada Maji after two years of custody

New Delhi [India], August 31 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Friday granted regular bail to Gurupada Maji after two years of custody in the West Bengal mining money laundering case under PMLA. The proceeds of crime, as alleged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), of more than Rs 2742.32 crore.

Earlier on November 23, 2021, Maji was released on regular bail by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court.

Justice Jyoti Singh, after considering the facts and submissions of counsels, granted bail to Gurupada Maji.

Justice Singh said, “The case of the ED is primarily based on documentary evidence, and the relevant records/documents have been seized and are in the custody of investigating agencies and thus cannot be tampered.”

“ED has not argued that there is any possibility of intimidating the witnesses,” Justice Singh added.

The bench said that it is also a matter of record that the investigation in the present matter qua the applicant is complete.

“Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances, the application is allowed, and it is directed that the applicant be released on regular bail, subject to his furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs. 5,00,000 with two sureties of the like amount to the satisfaction of the learnt trial court,” the high court ordered on Friday.

Maji had moved an application through advocate Sumer Singh Boparai and advocate Siddhant Saraswat seeking regular bail.

Senior advocate N Hariharan argued that Maji has been in judicial custody since June 2, 2022 and has already suffered long incarceration. A supplementary charge sheet was filed in July 2022, but the investigation is proceeding at a slow pace.

It was further argued that since the filing of the last supplementary charge sheet, two investigating officers have changed, but there is no progress. In the absence of completion of the investigation, there is no likelihood of the trial concluding anywhere in the near future as the same has not even commenced. There are 64 witnesses and 174 relied upon documents running into 3900 pages and the trial will itself take years to conclude, as and when it commences.

The case of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is that the CBI, Kolkata, registered an FIR on 27.11.2020 for offences punishable under Sections 120-B/409 IPC and Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act).

As per the FIR, Anup Majee, Amit Kumar Dhar, and several other public and private persons were involved in activities related to illegal excavation and theft of coal from the leasehold area of Eastern Coalfield Limited (ECL).

It was alleged that Anup Majee led the syndicate of illegal coal miners in active connivance with officials of ECL, CISF, Indian Railways, and other departments, who facilitated the misappropriation of coal, thereby committing a criminal breach of trust of government property entrusted to them.

During the investigation, a large number of vehicles and equipment used in illegal coal mining and its transportation were seized, and several instances of installing illegal weighbridges in concrete form were detected.

CBI filed a charge sheet against Anup Majee and 40 other accused on 19.07.2022 in the Court of Special Judge (CBI), Asansol, West Bengal, and the Court has taken cognisance of the offences. Applicant is accused No. 10 in the CBI case.

As per ED, there has been illegal excavation and pilferage of approximately 25,51,382.85 MT of coal worth Rs. 11,14,35,43,801 at the leasehold area of ECL.

Maji was arrested on May 27, 2022, by the ED and was remanded to ED custody till June 2, 2022. On 02.06.2022, the applicant was sent to judicial custody.

As per ED Maji was one of the four partners in the illegal coal mining business and had a 25 per cent stake therein. Investigation revealed that Niraj Singh, accountant of Anup Majee, maintained the records of Proceeds of Crime (POC) generated from illegal mining, which were seized by the Income Tax Department and forwarded to ED for further investigation.

It is alleged that between July 2018-December 2020, the syndicate of Anup Majee, which included the applicant, generated Rs. 2742.32 crores of POC from illegal coal mining.

Records seized by the Income Tax Department revealed that the applicant received POC to the tune of Rs 89.04 crores, either directly or through his nephew Tapas Maji, while the applicant was in custody in connection with a case under the NDPS Act, 1985.

WhatsApp communications between the applicant and Niraj Singh and digital evidence seized from the residence of Subhash Agarwal, CA, of the applicant revealed the transfer of POC to the applicant. Records such as loose sheets/ledgers seized from the applicant’s office at Balitora, Purulia, show his clear involvement in illegal coal mining.

It is also alleged that the investigation revealed that Nilima Maji, the wife of the applicant and the wife of Anup Majee are both directors in Excel Infrabuild Pvt. Ltd. (Bihari Nath Resort) and expenses to the tune of Rs. 1.63 crores were paid from POC, which is reflected in the records maintained by Niraj Singh.