Sitting in a packed courtroom just days before Christmas, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted regular bail to Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer in a high-profile money laundering case linked to the PACL investment scam. The order, delivered by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, came after a detailed hearing that stretched over multiple dates and revisited the Enforcement Directorate’s decision to arrest Hayer nearly nine years after the case was first registered.
Background
The case traces its roots to the PACL and Pearls Golden Forest investment schemes, which allegedly collected thousands of crores from small investors across the country on the promise of agricultural land that never quite materialised. While the CBI had registered the main FIR back in 2014, Hayer was not named as an accused initially. He was added much later, first in a supplementary charge sheet in 2021, and then, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), only in 2025.
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Despite this, Hayer had remained on bail in the predicate offence, travelled abroad several times with court permission, and, as his counsel stressed, “never once misused the liberty granted to him.”
Court’s Observations
Justice Krishna appeared particularly concerned with the timing of the arrest. The court noted that the Enforcement Directorate had been aware of the alleged transactions and Hayer’s role since at least 2018. Yet, he was arrested only in March 2025, when he was stopped at the IGI Airport despite having valid court permission to travel.
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“The record shows that the applicant had all throughout joined the investigation and never made any endeavour to evade the process of law,” the bench observed, adding that most of the evidence in the case is documentary in nature.
The court also rejected the argument that Hayer’s directorship in certain Australian companies automatically implied active involvement in laundering proceeds of crime. It noted that a substantial portion of the alleged fund transfers had taken place even before he became a director. On the question of bail under PMLA’s stringent conditions, the court held that Hayer had satisfied both the statutory “twin conditions” and the usual tests of bail - namely, that he was not a flight risk, unlikely to influence witnesses, and not in a position to tamper with evidence.
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Decision
Concluding that further incarceration would serve no useful purpose, especially with the investigation already complete, the High Court granted Hayer regular bail on furnishing a bond of ₹5 lakh, subject to strict conditions including restrictions on travel and contact with witnesses. The court made it clear that its observations would not affect the trial on merits, bringing the bail proceedings to a close.
Case Title: Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer v. Directorate of Enforcement
Case No.: Bail Application No. 3054/2025 (with Crl. M.A. 23642/2025)
Case Type: Regular Bail under PMLA
Decision Date: 24 December 2025