Bhubaneswar, June 24: On Monday, the Supreme Court granted interim protection from arrest to Odisha Administrative Service officer Bijaya Ketan Sahoo in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

A vacation bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Rajesh Bindal issued a notice to the ED regarding Sahoo's anticipatory bail plea. They instructed Sahoo to appear before the special PMLA court within two weeks and to furnish bail bonds in accordance with Section 88 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Previously, the Orissa High Court had denied Sahoo anticipatory bail on May 10, citing a prima facie case against him for his involvement in acquiring properties with the "proceeds of crime." However, Justice Chittaranjan Das of the High Court directed that if Sahoo appeared before the Special Court and applied for regular bail, it should be considered on its merits.

Sahoo subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the assets he acquired during the period in question were not disproportionate to his known sources of income. He contended that the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, should not apply since the scheduled offense was not established.

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