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A Delhi court granted bail to IPAC director Vinesh Chandel in a money laundering case, noting the Enforcement Directorate did not oppose his bail.
I-PAC co-founder Vinesh Chandel were produced before the judge on April 14 after ED arrested him in West Bengal Coal case. (ANI Video Grab)(HT_PRINT)A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to political consultancy firm IPAC director Vinesh Chandel in a money laundering case.
The court noted that the Enforcement Directorate has not opposed his bail and hence the twin conditions under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the grant of bail did not apply.
This comes only two days after rejecting his interim bail, when the court ruled that his plea did not meet the threshold of “exceptional humanitarian grounds” necessary for granting such as relief.
Why was his bail rejected earlier?
The court observed that the rigours of Section 45 of the PMLA cannot be diluted by resorting to interim relief in the absence of demonstrably urgent grounds.
The court noted that while humanitarian considerations were invoked, they must meet a high threshold of urgency and necessity, particularly in serious economic offences.
Chandel had sought interim relief on the grounds that his 74-year-old mother's health is deteriorating. She is reportedly suffering from dementia. But the Court observed, the material placed on record did not disclose any sudden or life-threatening medical emergency requiring his immediate presence.
“The court remarked that dementia is a chronic and progressive condition, and the documents filed did not indicate any acute crisis that could not be managed through appropriate care and assistance.”
The court further noted that the medical records, including MRI reports and diagnoses such as hypertension, hypovitaminosis-D, dyslipidemia, fatty liver and osteoporosis, did not establish urgency. It also pointed that no recent medical documents had been filed to corroborate claims of immediate deterioration. In the absence of such material, the plea of urgent medical necessity remained unsubstantiated.
Chandel was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in April, just ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, in connection with a money laundering investigation tied to alleged illegal coal mining and transportation in the state. He serves as a director at political consultancy firm I-PAC and owns a 33% stake in the company.
A court remanded Chandel to 14 days' judicial custody on April 23, 2026, after he was arrested in connection with money laundering investigation. Additional Sessions Judge Deepti Devesh had allowed the Enforcement Directorate's plea for judicial custody after the accused was produced upon expiry of his 10-day ED custody.
The probe agency alleged that I-PAC received around ₹20 crore proceeds of crime generated in West Bengal coal mining racket through hawala channels.
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