On Monday, October 10, the Aam Aadmi Party supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to heap praises on the Delhi High Court for dismissing a case against his loyalist Satyendar Jain. However, he omitted to mention that the dismissed case was an old one brought against Jain under the Benami Act. Satyendar Jain, a senior Aam Aadmi Party leader and the Delhi Health Minister, is presently imprisoned in connection with a money-laundering case involving hawala transactions by a Kolkata-based business.
The AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi, which translates as “The court dismissed the case against Satyendar Jain. They had forcibly put an honest man in jail for so many months. It would be so much better if these people invested their time in nation-building projects rather than concentrating on fake cases!”
सत्येंद्र जैन के ख़िलाफ़ कोर्ट ने मामला ख़ारिज किया। इन्होंने एक ईमानदार आदमी को ज़बरदस्ती इतने महीनों से जेल में डाला हुआ है। ये लोग अगर अपना समय फ़र्ज़ी केस करने की बजाय राष्ट्र निर्माण के कामों में लगायें तो कितना अच्छा हो! https://t.co/atNYsWHiN6
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 10, 2022
Kejriwal was responding to a tweet from the Indian legal news website Bar & Bench, which said clearly that the Delhi High Court has closed all legal actions against Jain under the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act.
“Delhi High Court allows AAP minister Satyendar Jain’s plea challenging proceedings against him under the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act. The court has closed all the proceedings against Jain under the Act,” Bar & Bench tweet read.
#Breaking Delhi High Court allows AAP minister Satyendar Jain’s plea challenging proceedings against him under the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act. The court has closed all the proceedings against Jain under the Act. #DelhiHighCourt #SatyendarJain #BenamiAct pic.twitter.com/KwZN3EhQ7P
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) October 10, 2022
In his haste to vindicate his loyalist Satyendra Jain, accused in cases related to disproportionate assets and money laundering, Arvind Kejriwal probably forgot to properly read the post shared by Bar and Bench. The post mentioned in plain and simple words that the proceeding against Satyendra Jain that has been dismissed was registered under the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act. Whereas the case for which the AAP minister is currently lodged in jail is the one registered against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Taking a cue from their chief, other AAP leaders also rejoiced claiming that the court vindicated Satyendra Jain.
सत्य मेव जयते !
— Aarti (@aartic02) October 10, 2022
The court has closed all the proceedings against @SatyendarJain
However, several informed Internet users were eager to educate Kejriwal. “This is a different and old case. It was registered under Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act. Currently, he is in jail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and he will continue to be in jail till further order. Still, you can ask your media houses to ignore facts,” tweeted popular Twitter user Befitting Facts.
This is different and old case. It was registered under Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act. Currently he is in jail under Prevention of Money Laundering Act and he will continue to be in jail till further order. Still you can ask your media houses to ignore facts.
— Facts (@BefittingFacts) October 10, 2022
Another Twitter user @4racs called out Kejriwal for his ignorance. He reminded the Delhi CM that this was the ‘second old case’ in which Satyendar Jain was accused. “If the case for which he is in jail had been dismissed, the thief Satendra Jain would not have come out?” asked the Twitter user mocking Kejriwal.
अबे घनचक्कर, ख़ारिज दूसरा पुराना मामला हुआ है, जिस केस के लिए जेल में हैं वो ख़ारिज हो जाता तो चोर सतेंद्र जैन बाहर ना आ जाता
— S̶c̶a̶r̶ (@4racs) October 10, 2022
Rohit Upadhyay, a former journalist and the current head of social media for the BJP in Delhi, claimed that Kejriwal purposefully withheld some information from the public in order to mislead them. He criticised the chief minister of Delhi for frequently using trickery and fraud.
फ़र्जीवाल साहब, पुरी खबर डालने में शर्म आ रही थी…..हर जगह फ़र्जीवाड़ा…
— Dr. Rohit Upadhyay (@rohitTeamBJP) October 10, 2022
आपको क्या लगता है…आधी खबर पोस्ट करके भ्रष्टाचारी @SatyendarJain जेल से बाहर आ जायेगा..?? https://t.co/O0QKwizF6J pic.twitter.com/roLPU8Np0s
Army veteran Major Surendra Poonia slammed the Delhi CM for lying yet again.
फिर झूठ बोल रहे हो आप केजरीवाल जी
— Major Surendra Poonia (@MajorPoonia) October 10, 2022
श्री सत्येंद्र जैन को ED ने Prevention of Money Laundering Act के तहत गिरफ़्तार किया है ना कि Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act.
ये दोनों अलग अलग केस हैं ..और कोर्ट के पास सबूत हैं उनके द्वारा की गई
Money Laundering के https://t.co/X5pfmVhOFk
Another Twitter user called out the Delhi CM’s lie. Referring to Kejriwal as ‘Lavanasur’, a moniker awarded to him last year, the social media user Tweeted, “Lavanasur ji! This is the outcome of a petition filed by Satyendra in 2017. He is in Jail for a different case I think, and that is a money laundering case.”
Lavanasur ji! This is the outcome of a petition filed by Satyendra in 2017. He is in Jail for a different case I think, and that is money laundering case.https://t.co/BjmJs4ZaE6
— Rajib Nanda 🇮🇳 (@rajib_nanda) October 10, 2022
Notably, the case filed against Satyendar Jain under the Benami Act pertains to a complaint to the Lokayukta against Jain in 2017, seeking a probe into alleged Benami transactions by the Delhi minister. Much to the disappointment of the AAP supremo, the case registered against his minister Satyendar Jain by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case connected to the hawala transactions by a Kolkata-based company is very much open and the law would take its own course.
In April, the Enforcement Directorate provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs. 4.81 crores owned by companies named Akinchan Developers Pvt. Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, and others under the PMLA, 2002. The action was taken in connection with the disproportionate asset and money laundering case registered against AAP minister Satyendra Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and others.
It may be recalled that on August 25, 2017, CBI filed an FIR against Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case. The ED had registered a criminal case against the AAP leader based on this FIR which was lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in which it had been alleged that Jain could not explain the source of funds received by four companies in which he was a shareholder. The companies have reportedly laundered money to the tune of Rs 16.39 crores from 2010 to 2014.
