SC grants bail to AAP leader Vijay Nair in money laundering case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today granted bail to former AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, saying freedom is “sacrosanct”. Accepting the legal principle of ‘bail is the rule, jail is the exception’, the apex court quoted a co-ordinate bench as saying that imprisonment before trial cannot be a punishment.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti said Nair has been in jail for the last 22 months in a money laundering case where most of the sentence is seven years.

The bench had on August 12 sought the ED’s response on Nair’s bail plea. Nair was arrested by the agency on November 13, 2022.