HC grants interim bail to Goraya bizman Gaba

GABA WILL HAVE TO SURRENDER HIS PASSPORT IN A TRIAL COURT AND WILL HAVE TO VISIT LOCAL POLICE STATION AT LEAST ONCE IN A FORTNIGHT

CHANDIGARH : The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday granted interim bail to Goraya-based businessman Chunni Lal Gaba in a money laundering case.

The HC said Gaba will have to surrender his passport in a trial court within a week and will have to visit the local police station at least once in a fortnight. The HC order said the trail court will be at liberty to impose any other condition as it deems fit considering facts and circumstances of the case. The case has been listed in the high court on August 20.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had charge-sheeted nine members of the Gaba’s family associated with his 11 firms in connection with the 2013 Jagdish Bhola drug racket for alleged violation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED’S chargesheet had listed 11 firms, jointly owned by the Gaba family, and their properties at Phillaur, Goraya and Una (Himachal Pradesh). The ED had registered the case after former Punjab Police DSP and drug lord Jagdish Singh Bhola had in January 2014 accused Gaba of trading in synthetic drug pseudoephedrine in association with Delhi-based smuggler Varinder Raja.

Gaba’s counsel had sought the bail saying that his 74-yearold client has been in judicial custody for more than 14 months and there is no chance of the him absconding during the proceedings.

The counsel for ED opposed the bail saying that some of the co-accused, including Gaba’s his brother Mahesh Gaba, are absconding and his son Gurjit Kumar Gaba has been sentenced to 10-year imprisonment.

The high court, while granting him interim bail, took into consideration that the trial of the case has not made much headway, as some of the accused are still absconding.