February 18, 2025: President Droupadi Murmu has granted prosecution sanction against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Jain, a former Delhi minister, was booked by the ED over alleged hawala dealings and was arrested in May 2022.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had recently requested the President to grant the sanction under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. The request was based on an ED investigation and the presence of “adequate evidence,” according to unnamed officials quoted by PTI.

Currently out on bail, Jain has already been chargesheeted in the case, which originated from an August 2017 FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI had alleged that Jain and others were in possession of disproportionate assets. The agency later filed a chargesheet in December 2018, stating that the assets were worth ₹1.47 crore—about 217% higher than his known sources of income between 2015 and 2017.

Jain was released from Delhi's Tihar Jail on October 18, 2024, after being granted bail by a Delhi court, which observed that there was “no likelihood” of the trial commencing anytime soon. He had earlier been incarcerated since May 2022, except for a 10-month period between May 2023 and March 2024 when he was on medical bail.

Meanwhile, in the recent Delhi Assembly elections, Jain contested from the Shakur Basti constituency but lost to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Karnail Singh by a margin of nearly 21,000 votes.

With the prosecution sanction now granted, legal proceedings against Jain are expected to move forward, adding to the legal troubles faced by the AAP leader.