The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to former Jharkhand Minister and Congress leader Alamgir Alam, along with his former personal secretary, Sanjeev Lal, in a money laundering case linked to the alleged collection of commissions from contractors for government tenders.
A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh issued the order after hearing arguments from both the petitioners and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED had arrested Alamgir Alam on May 15, 2024, following raids that uncovered over ₹32.20 crore in cash from locations associated with his associates. Previously, the Jharkhand High Court had denied bail to Alam and Lal, prompting their appeal to the Supreme Court.
In opposing bail, the ED characterized the allegations as serious and noted the potential for the accused to influence witnesses if released. The agency also stated that statements from four key witnesses remained unrecorded, despite prior Supreme Court directives.
The High Court had previously remarked that the Special PMLA Court in Ranchi appropriately rejected Alam’s discharge plea, citing evidence of his ‘active and conscious role’ in allegedly aiding co-accused individuals in the illegal commission collection related to tenders from various departments. The High Court also indicated that the Special Court had sufficient evidence to proceed with charges against him.
Representing the petitioners, senior counsel argued that the prosecution’s case heavily relied on statements from co-accused made while in custody, asserting that no direct allegations were made against Alam and that no incriminating evidence was found at his home. The defense also sought bail on medical grounds, highlighting that the 77-year-old former minister had been in custody for over two years and was facing age-related health issues.
The case stems from ED searches conducted on May 6, 2024, at locations linked to Sanjeev Lal, Jahangir Alam, and others, during which officials seized ₹32.20 crore in cash associated with Jahangir Alam. The agency also confiscated ₹10.05 lakh in cash and a diary from Lal’s residence, which allegedly contained details of commission transactions.
Following the raids, the ED arrested Sanjeev Lal and Jahangir Alam on May 7, 2024, while Alamgir Alam was arrested on May 15, 2024, after two days of questioning. Throughout the investigation, the ED attached assets worth ₹4.42 crore linked to Sanjeev Lal and seized the ₹32.20 crore found during the raids. The agency claimed that commission money was allegedly collected under Sanjeev Lal’s supervision and funneled to influential individuals, with a network of engineers managing the tender process and collecting commissions from contractors, a portion of which allegedly reached senior government officials.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave and Advocate on Record Sonam Gupta represented Alamgir Alam.
