Bhubaneswar, (Orissa Today), June 24: The Supreme Court granted interim protection from arrest to Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officer Bijaya Ketan Sahoo on Monday in connection with a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over alleged possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
A vacation bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal issued a notice to the ED on Sahoo’s anticipatory bail plea, directing him to appear before the special PMLA court within two weeks and furnish bail bonds under Section 88 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Earlier, the Orissa High Court had denied Sahoo anticipatory bail on May 10, citing a prima facie case against him regarding the acquisition of properties linked to “proceeds of crime.” However, Justice Chittaranjan Das of the High Court had ruled that if Sahoo appeared before the Special Court and sought regular bail, it would be considered on its own merits.
In response, Sahoo approached the Supreme Court arguing that the assets acquired during the alleged period of offense were not disproportionate to his known sources of income. He contended that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 should not apply as the scheduled offense was not established in this case.
