I-PAC Director Vinesh Chandel gets bail in West Bengal coal scam case

A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to Vinesh Chandel, director of political consultancy firm I-PAC, in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged coal smuggling operation in West Bengal, Bar and Bench reported.

The Enforcement Directorate, which had arrested Chandel on April 13, did not oppose his bail, according to Live Law.

Chandel was arrested days before the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections.

I-PAC, or the Indian Political Action Committee, has managed the Trinamool Congress’ election campaigns, including the 2021 Assembly elections. It was also managing the party’s campaign for the 2026 Assembly polls.

On Thursday, Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal of the Patiala House Court held that since the Enforcement Directorate did not oppose Chandel’s bail, the twin conditions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act would not apply in his case.

Section 45 of the act states that bail can only be granted after there is prima facie satisfaction that the suspect has not committed the offence and is not likely to commit further offences.

Polling was held in the state in two phases, on April 23 and Wednesday. The votes will be counted on Monday.

On Tuesday, Additional Sessions Judge Shefali Barnala Tandon rejected Chandel’s interim bail application. He had sought relief citing his mother’s deteriorating health due to dementia. However, the court held that his mother’s ill-health was not sudden or life-threatening, The New Indian Express reported.

What is the case?

On April 2, the ED searched Chandel’s residence in Delhi, as well as the premises of another I-PAC director, Rishi Raj Singh, in Bengaluru and former Aam Aadmi Party communications in-charge Vijay Nair in Mumbai, among others, as part of the investigation.

The agency’s case stems from a November 2020 first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation about an alleged coal smuggling syndicate that was used to “steal and illegally excavate coal from [Eastern Coalfields Limited] leasehold areas in West Bengal”.

The ED has alleged that a hawala operator linked to the network facilitated transactions worth tens of crores of rupees to Indian PAC Consulting Private Limited, the registered entity of I-PAC.

According to the ED, Chandel owns a 33% shareholder of the company, Bar and Bench reported.

It has claimed to have found several instances of financial irregularities involving the company, such as the receipt of both accounted and unaccounted funds, unsecured loans lacking legitimate business backing, bogus invoices and routing of funds through third parties.

The agency told the court that it has detected around Rs 50 crore worth of irregularities so far, Bar and Bench reported.

The central agency had also conducted searches on January 8 at the political consultancy’s office in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area, the home of its head Pratik Jain and the office of a trader in the city’s Posta neighbourhood as part of the investigation into alleged money laundering.

The January searches led to a political dispute after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived at Jain’s home around noon while the search was underway and stayed for about 20 to 25 minutes. She then came out with a file and claimed that the central agency’s officials were “taking away” party documents ahead of the Assembly polls.

After the raids, the Trinamool Congress and I-PAC had moved the Calcutta High Court, challenging the legality of the searches. The central agency also approached the High Court, alleging “illegal interference” in its work.

Later, the agency also approached the Supreme Court, under Article 32 of the Constitution, which grants individuals the right to move the top court for enforcement of their fundamental rights.

Also read: From rallies to booth management, I-PAC is critical for Trinamool. Will its exit hurt the party?