New Delhi

On Friday, the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi granted bail to Madhav Acharya, a senior official at the Avantha Group, in a money laundering case. This case originated from a June 2021 FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Gautam Thapar, his company CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd., and several associates.

During the court proceedings, Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa represented Acharya before Special Judge Sanjeev Agarwal. The judge granted regular bail under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stating that the evidence presented by the investigating agency did not sufficiently meet the requirements of this section. The judge noted that the case against Acharya did not seem prima facie genuine based on the material collected during the investigation.

The court emphasized that keeping Acharya in custody any longer would violate his right to a speedy trial and infringe upon his fundamental right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. The allegations involve money laundering linked to the Avantha Group and Gautam Thapar, amounting to nearly ₹1,929.88 crores and ₹6.33 crores.

Recently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attached properties valued at approximately ₹678.48 crores belonging to the Avantha Group, located in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Uttarakhand, as part of the ongoing investigation.