Delhi court allows ex-MP CM Kamal Nath's nephew Ratul Puri to travel abroad

New Delhi: A Delhi court has allowed former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's nephew Ratul Puri, accused in a money laundering case connected to the purported fertiliser scam.

Judge Jitendra Singh allowed Puri to travel to Japan from November 16 to 25; Oman from November 25 to December 1, and Thailand from December 20 to January 4, 2025, respectively.

The judge directed Puri to submit an affidavit before the court, detailing a complete itinerary of his abroad travel and stay along with his phone number and an email ID before leaving the country.

The judge directed him to furnish an fixed deposit receipt of Rs 25 lakh before the court.

"He shall not try to tamper with the evidence or influence any witness connected with the present case while travelling abroad," the judge said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raised apprehensions of Puri not returning to India if permitted to travel aborad while claiming that he could influence witnesses and tamper with the evidence.

The agency said economic offences had deep-rooted conspiracies with huge loss of public funds and were required to be taken seriously besides being treated as offences affecting the entire country's economy.

Therefore, a lenient approach towards persons accused of such crimes sends a wrong message to the society at large, said the ED.

The applicant was granted bail on January 18, 2023, subject to not leaving the country without court's prior permission and further directed not to tamper with the evidence or influence witnesses.

The court in its order on October 29 observed Puri was permitted to travel abroad on four earlier occasions.

"I have gone through the reply, which has been filed by DoE. The objection taken by the DoE is similar to the objections taken in earlier applications. There is nothing on record to suggest that the applicant has misused the liberty, to travel abroad. The objections taken by the DoE can be taken care by imposing appropriate conditions," the judge wrote in his order.

According to the ED, the fertiliser scam case, which also involves then RJD Rajya Sabha MP Amarendra Dhari Singh and IFFCO Managing Director and CEO U S Awasthi, relates to illegal commissions worth over Rs 685 crore allegedly paid to the NRI sons of Awasthi and Indian Potash Ltd (IPL) Managing Director P S Gahlaut, and some others by overseas suppliers during 2007-14.

Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Limited (IFFCO) is a multi-state farmers' cooperative, while IPL is its company involved in supplying fertilisers for which the government provides subsidies to keep the rates affordable, the ED said.

It alleged Awasthi and others in IFFCO generated proceeds of crime and layered it through various unrelated entities, and part of that was transferred to the entities controlled by Awasthi and others.