The Supreme Court on Monday said that the interim medical bail granted to former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain six months ago cannot go on for so long even as it extended his bail till the next hearing of the case on Monday.

The court was examining a petition filed by Jain seeking regular bail. On May 26, he got interim bail on medical grounds and the same was extended on many occasions pending consideration of his regular bail plea.

A bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma on Monday observed, “We have to consider further extension of our interim order. It cannot go on for so long.”

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing along with advocate Vivek Jain for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader requested the court to adjourn the matter pointing out that on earlier occasions, the case was heard by a specially constituted bench of justices AS Bopanna and Bela M Trivedi. As justice Bopanna is on leave due to illness, Singhvi requested the matter to come up before the same bench where he made considerable arguments.

Justice Trivedi said, “I have been told this matter has been assigned to this bench for hearing in regular course. I will verify it again,” while posting the matter for hearing on December 11.

Singhvi pointed out that if the listing has been done by the Supreme Court Registry it cannot override a judicial order which held the matter to be “part-heard”, a legal term used to show that a matter is pending before a particular bench. The court also posted similar bail pleas by other co-accused in the case on Monday.

The senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader has been accused of laundering money through four companies allegedly linked to him. He was arrested in May last year in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Subsequent to the probe, ED attached assets worth ₹4.81 crore belonging to these companies last year. The ED probe began pursuant to a 2017 case registered against Jain by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Jain approached the top court against a Delhi high court order of April 6 refusing his bail. In his appeal before the top court, he complained of facing depression, patch on lungs after suffering from Covid-19 last year, acute lumbar pain and associated vertigo, degeneration of intervertebral discs and sleep apnea.

He claimed to have lost 35 kilos in jail and had to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of LNJP hospital in May after he fell in the jail bathroom.

Since getting interim bail from the top court, Jain had to undergo a spinal operation on July 21 following which his interim bail was extended on multiple occasions.

Jain told the court on an earlier occasion that following his surgery, doctors advised him to take physiotherapy, aquatic exercises, with limited body movements which cannot be possible if he surrenders. The ED agreed to provide all the necessary treatment in custody and insisted on his surrender.