Is Sanjeev Arora Sick Enough to Get Bail? Supreme Court Says No — For Now

Is Sanjeev Arora sick? Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora’s bail plea has been dismissed by the Supreme Court. An AIIMS board of six doctors found him stable but recommended angiography.  

North Desk Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, July 31

On the morning of May 9, the Enforcement Directorate came to Punjab Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora’s official residence in Chandigarh’s Sector 2 and took him away. Nearly three months later, he has not come back.

In that time, Arora — once the most powerful minister in Bhagwant Mann’s cabinet, holding four of its most consequential portfolios — has fought for his freedom in three different courts and hasn’t won as yet. His most recent attempt brought him to the Supreme Court of India, where he made a case that his health alone justified bail. This week, a bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh heard him out and turned him down.

The question his legal team put before the country’s highest court was, at its core, a simple and human one: is this man sick enough to be let out?

The answer, for now, is no. But the medical details that emerged from the Supreme Court proceedings tell a more layered story.

READ ALSO: Fresh ED Raids In Sanjeev Arora Money Laundering Case; Hindu Traders Targeted, Says AAP

Three Courts, Three Months, No Bail

Is Sanjeev Arora sick? Sanjeev Arora was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in what the Enforcement Directorate described as a fresh case — separate from earlier searches — involving alleged money laundering through fictitious GST transactions on mobile phone exports worth over Rs 100 crore, with funds allegedly round-tripped from Dubai.

After his arrest, his legal team moved a regular bail application before the Sessions Judge-cum-Special PMLA Judge in Gurugram, Haryana. That application was rejected on June 15.

Arora then approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. When it came up earlier this month, the High Court issued notices and fixed the next hearing for next month. His counsel separately attempted to seek interim bail before the hearing date — an urgent mentioning before the court — but that request did not succeed.

With the High Court date still weeks away and his health a growing concern, Arora’s legal team moved the Supreme Court.

Is Sanjeev Arora sick: The Medical Case

Is Sanjeev Arora sick? At the heart of the Supreme Court petition was a straightforward argument: Arora was unwell, the High Court was not hearing his matter urgently, and he needed medical attention that custody could not adequately provide.

The Supreme Court took the health claim seriously enough to act on it. By order dated July 20, the bench — noting the statement of Arora’s senior counsel that the petitioner was unwell — directed that a medical examination be conducted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

The examination was carried out. A Medical Board comprising six senior AIIMS doctors assessed Arora and submitted their findings to the court.

Their conclusion, reproduced in the Supreme Court’s order, read: “In view of the clinical assessment and the available medical records, the Medical Board is of the opinion that the petitioner is clinically stable at present. He has been advised to continue medical management, including medications, and patient is advised for angiography for further evaluation.”

Is Sanjeev Arora sick? Two things stand out in that finding. First, the board found him clinically stable — not in acute distress, not in immediate danger. Second, and more significantly, the board recommended angiography. That is a cardiac investigation procedure used to examine the blood vessels around the heart, typically ordered when doctors want to rule out or assess blockages and coronary artery disease. The fact that AIIMS recommended it means there is a cardiac concern that requires further investigation — the doctors simply could not fully evaluate it without the procedure.

What the Government Agreed To

The Enforcement Directorate’s position, argued before the court by Additional Solicitor General Suryaprakash V. Raju, was straightforward: oppose bail, but not the medical care. The ASG gave an undertaking on behalf of the state before the Supreme Court that the government would ensure the angiography was carried out at AIIMS as and when required, and that the petitioner would receive the best possible medical treatment in custody.

That undertaking mattered. It gave the court a reason to dismiss the bail plea without being seen as indifferent to a prisoner’s health. The SC’s order specifically directed jail authorities to provide all possible treatment in case of any medical emergency, keeping in view the Medical Board’s report.

The Legal Firepower

One detail in the Supreme Court proceedings is worth pausing on: Arora was represented by Mukul Rohatgi, a former Attorney General of India and one of the most senior and experienced advocates at the Supreme Court Bar. Appearing alongside him was senior advocate Puneet Bali.

Obviously, it signals that Arora’s family is investing significantly in his defence and that his legal team expects a sustained battle. Rohatgi cited several precedents in support of bail — including cases involving Satyendra Kumar Jain and Dheeraj Wadhawan — but the court found the High Court’s scheduled August date sufficient reason to decline to intervene at this stage.

The Supreme Court was careful to note that it had expressed no opinion on the merits of the case. The High Court, it said, should decide the matter freely, after hearing both sides fully, in accordance with law.

For Sanjeev Arora — industrialist, reluctant politician, four-portfolio minister, PMLA accused — the answer to the question his lawyers put before the Supreme Court remains pending. He was not sick enough to be released on July 28. Whether he is found bail-worthy by any measure during next hearing is now the only question that matters.

READ ALSO: Fresh ED Raids In Sanjeev Arora Money Laundering Case; Hindu Traders Targeted, Says AAP

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