IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

211 Date of decision: September 24^th, 2025 Varinder Pal Singh Dhoot .....Petitioner Versus Directorate of Enforcement .....Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE MANJARI NEHRU KAUL Present: Mr. Harshit Sethi and Mr. Rahil Mahajan, Advocates for the petitioner.

Mr. Satya Pal Jain, Additional Solicitor General of India with Ms. Meghna Malik, Senior Panel Counsel for the respondent-ED.

MANJARI NEHRU KAUL, J.

This is the third petition filed by the petitioner seeking the concession of regular bail in complaint case COMA-03-2023 dated 16.06.2023 arising out of ECIR/JLZO/07 Unit 4(1)/120/1024 dated 30.03.2021 for an offence under Section 3 punishable under Section 4 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as ‘PMLA’).

2. On the last date of hearing, this Court had passed the following order:

“Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner was granted interim bail vide order dated

27.05.2025 in the following terms:-

“Learned counsel for the respondent-ED has placed on record the Medical Board Report received from PGIMER Chandigarh, the relevant part of which is reproduced hereinunder:-

“The patient's baseline creatinine while under PGIMER follow up was 1.7-1.8 mg% and has shown episodes of rise and fall. He has developed high degree of protein loss in urine upto 03 gm/day. A biopsy showed possible recurrence of his previous renal illness. Overall his renal function has deteriorated.”

In addition to the prayer made by learned counsel for the petitioner for grant of bail to the petitioner on grounds of his failing medical health, a prayer has also been made by learned counsel for extending the concession of bail to the petitioner on merits since there can now be no possibility of the petitioner tampering with evidence, which is all part of the challan. It has been further urged that the petitioner also deserves the concession of regular bail on account of the fact that investigation qua him is complete with the challan already having been presented way back on 16.06.2023.”

3. It was further submitted on the last date that the condition of the petitioner had deteriorated, with his creatinine level touching 2.9 mg/dL (just below level 3), and in case it crosses 3 mg/dL, he would require dialysis. Photocopies of the latest medical reports were placed on record. Learned senior counsel for the respondent-ED had not disputed that the petitioner was granted bail on medical grounds, vide order dated 27.05.2025, but sought fresh evaluation from PGIMER, Chandigarh, by a Board of Doctors. It was also brought to the notice of this Court, that during the interregnum, the petitioner had been arrested in a fresh case FIR No.28 dated 17.06.2025 by Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, and is presently lodged in Central Jail, Kapurthala, while undergoing treatment at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar.

4. Accordingly, vide the said order, this Court requested the PUNEET SACHDEVA Director, PGIMER Chandigarh, to constitute a Board of Doctors to evaluate the medical condition of the petitioner and opine whether the same could be managed in jail. The State of Punjab was also directed to ensure that the petitioner is produced for the said evaluation.

5. In compliance, learned ASG appearing for the ED has placed on record the Medical Board report dated 23.09.2025, comprising four doctors, headed by Professor Deepesh. B. Kenwar, Department of Renal Transplant Surgery, along with specialists from the Department of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, and Department of Hospital Administration, PGIMER, Chandigarh.

The report reads thus: “Medical Board Report In pursuance of the request received from Assistant Director, Directorate of Enforcement, Govt. of India, Jalandhar and Superintendent Kapurthala Jail as per the orders of Hon'ble High Court of Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh, a Medical Board consisting of the following doctors is hereby constituted for medical examination in CRM-M-4