In a move drawing sharp criticism, the Madras High Court on Monday (21 April 2025) granted bail to alleged international drug smuggler Jaffer Sadiq alias “Bezos” and his brother Mohamed Saleem in a high-profile money laundering case.
The case, registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, stems from allegations of a ₹2,000 crore pseudoephedrine drug trafficking operation linked to Australia and New Zealand.
Justice Sunder Mohan granted bail by invoking the precedent set by the Supreme Court in July 2024, where then-Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K.V. Viswanathan granted bail to former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in a PMLA case.
Ironically, the judiciary—which has in recent months aggressively asserted its authority by questioning the roles of Parliament and even issuing directives to the President and the Governor has now released individuals accused of grave transnational crimes. Critics argue that such decisions risk eroding public trust in the system, especially when the accused are allegedly linked to drug cartels and financial crimes of an international scale.
Initially arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Sadiq was dubbed the mastermind of a major drug syndicate responsible for exporting massive quantities of pseudoephedrine. The ED later registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) based on the NCB’s investigation and accused Sadiq and Saleem of laundering drug profits through film production and business fronts.
The High Court’s order is being viewed by many as a glaring example of judicial inconsistency. On one hand the judiciary encroaches on the powers of other institutions of democracy (President and Parliament) by lecturing them on how to do their jobs in a “time bound” manner while on the other hand it gives bail to people involved in international drug smuggling.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
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