New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday granted interim bail to journalist Mahesh Langa, who is facing allegations in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed the special court to conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis to record the statements of the remaining nine witnesses.

As reported by Bar and Bench, the court also imposed a restriction on Langa, a former journalist with The Hindu, barring him from publishing any articles related to the allegations against him.

Opposing the grant of bail, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that a journalist had been found extorting money, alleging threats of adverse publication if payments were not made. He sought permission to file an additional counter affidavit.

Countering the submissions, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Langa, objected to the request for another counter, stating that a reply had already been filed. He questioned the claims of a ₹68-crore fraud, asserting that the amount involved was not even ₹68 lakh.

Sibal further submitted that no chargesheet had been filed so far and described the allegation that Langa was influencing witnesses as shocking. He said that full details of all FIRs had been disclosed and expressed concern over Langa’s continued incarceration since October 2024, stressing that the offence was not of a grave nature like murder.

He also pointed out that there was no supplementary complaint and demanded documents relating to the alleged one-crore transaction, arguing that the prosecution could not take contradictory stands.

Taking into account that only nine witnesses remain to be examined, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Langa. The bench directed Langa to fully cooperate with the trial and specifically ordered that he must not seek adjournments on the ground that his petition seeking quashing of the case is pending.

The court further asked the Enforcement Directorate to submit a status report on compliance with these directions and fixed the next date of hearing for January 6.

Langa was arrested by the Gujarat Police last year in connection with alleged Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud and was subsequently booked in multiple other cases. The ED initiated its probe after an FIR was lodged by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Ahmedabad, alleging cheating and criminal breach of trust.

According to the agency, Langa is also accused in the GST Input Tax Credit scam, which is currently under investigation. The ED has alleged that he attempted to manipulate and conceal the true nature of financial transactions linked to the fraud and the GST Input Tax Credit case. DeshGujarat