The Supreme Court on Friday imposed an interim stay on a Delhi High Court order granting bail to Preeti Chandra, the wife of Unitech promoter Sanjay Chandra, in a money laundering case.

A vacation bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Rajesh Bindal issued notice to Preeti Chandra on Enforcement Directorate's plea challenging the Delhi HC order.

"Till further orders, operation of the impugned order dated June 14, 2023 shall remain stayed. At this stage, counsel for the respondent states that the respondent may be granted liberty to apply for temporary bail on health grounds.

"As and when such an application is moved, the same shall be considered in accordance with law," the bench said.

At the outset, Additional Solictor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for ED, informed the court that the bail order was kept in abeyance on ground of challenge before the apex court.

The high court had on June 14 granted bail to Chandra and said the order will not take effect till June 16, after the Enforcement Directorate sought time to challenge it.

The ED had registered the present case in 2018 under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against the Unitech Group and its promoters over allegations that the owners — Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra — illegally diverted over Rs 2,000 crore to Cyprus and the Cayman Islands.

Preeti Chandra had filed the bail plea before the court last year, saying she was a fashion designer and philanthropist, who has been in custody since October 4, 2021 and there were no proceeds of crime relatable to her.

The money laundering case arose from a number of Delhi Police and CBI FIRs filed by home buyers against the Unitech Group and its promoters. A charge sheet has already been filed before the trial court.

It has been alleged that funds collected from home buyers for housing projects were not utilised for their intended purpose, and that the buyers were cheated and the accused committed the offence of money laundering.

The allegation against Preeti Chandra, as per the prosecution, is that she received the proceeds of crime totalling Rs 107 crore in her company Prakausli Investments Pvt. Ltd. but did not disclose how the money was used.

On November 7, 2022, the trial court had refused to grant her bail citing the "enormity of the transactions and seriousness of the allegations”.

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