Why Supreme Court granted Bhushan Steel ex-MD bail in ED case even if he "shook up the economy"

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to former Bhushan Steel promoter Neeraj Singal in a ₹46,000 crore money laundering case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). (Neeraj Singal v Directorate of Enforcement).A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and PV Sanjay Kumar acknowledged that the allegations against Singal were serious. Nevertheless, the Court opined that he was entitled to bail considering the length of time he has remained in prison, and given that the trial against him was not proceeding. "He is not some small-time offender. Somewhere, we have to draw a line for economic offences. He shook up the economy. How long has he been inside?" the Court asked today while hearing the matter. "He is inside for 16 months. Pankaj Bansal squarely applies. It cannot be punishment before trial," submitted Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal on behalf of Singal. "Then he has learnt his lesson. But somewhere, we also have to become strict; even if he shook up the economy, grounds have to be supplied," the Court replied.."This not a case for bail. Serious offence," protested the ED's counsel, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju.However, the Court pointed out that if the trial against Singal has been delayed, he would have to be released on bail. "We are aware of the impact of such scams on public and public limited companies. But if trial is never going to get over, we have to match that aspect (of liberty)...But it is not to be treated lightly. It (the alleged money laundering) is fraud on entire society," the Court said. .The Court proceeded to allow Singal's appeal against the Delhi High Court's decision to reject his bail plea.The top court granted him bail subject to various conditions including the surrender of his passport."We direct that the appellant, Neeraj Singal, will be released from jail ... on terms and conditions to be fixed by the trial court. Neeraj Singal, shall comply with the conditions mentioned in Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ... will provide a mobile number on which he can be contacted by the Officers of the Directorate of Enforcement to ascertain his whereabouts and presence ... will surrender his passport and not leave India without permission of the trial court."In case there is a violation of bail terms, the ED can move to cancel his bail before the trial court, it was clarified..Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi also appeared for Singal along with Advocates Ranjana Roy Gawai, Arshdeep Singh Khurana, Amit Bhandari, Vivek Jain, Adit Pujari, Ujjwal Jain, Shambhavi Kashyap, Manan Khanna, Swapnil Srivastava, Jayesh Srivastava, and Divya Roy.Advocates Zoheb Hossain, Kanu Agrawal, Annam Venkatesh, Vivek Gurnani, Mrigank Pathak, Rohit Khare, and Arvind Kumar Sharma also appeared for the ED..[Read order].[Read Live Coverage]