4 min readBengaluruFeb 5, 2026 06:33 PM IST
The Karnataka High Court Thursday granted bail to Congress MLA Satish Krishna Sail in a money laundering case linked to the alleged illegal export of iron ore from the Belekeri port in Ankola.
The single-judge bench of Justice S Sunil Dutt Yadav allowed the petition filed by the accused and granted him bail on medical grounds. It said, “Incarceration and treatment during incarceration may not be practical and would jeopardise the fragile medical health of the petitioner.”
Accordingly, it enlarged him on conditional medical bail on executing a personal bond for Rs 5 lakh, with one surety of like sum.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had in August 2025 raided premises linked to Satish Krishna Sail, after he was convicted by a Bengaluru court under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The agency had issued a statement stating that its investigation revealed that Sail, in collusion with other business entities and Belekeri port officials, had illegally exported iron ore particles weighing nearly 1.25 lakh metric ton between April 19, 2010, and June 10, 2010. The alleged total value of the illegal exports carried out by Satish Krishna Sail was to the tune of Rs 86.78 crore.
Sail had initially moved the special court seeking bail on medical grounds, but the trial court rejected the application in November 2025, following which he moved the high court.
The petitioner had urged the court to consider enlarging him on bail considering his medical condition and relying on the proviso added under Section 45 (1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The proviso inserted in 2018, provides that a person, who is under the age of 16 years or is a woman or is sick or infirm, may be released on bail, if the Special Court so directs.
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Senior Advocate Sandesh J Chouta appearing for the petitioner produced records of the medical condition and had said that he suffers from liver cirrhosis and other multiple ailments and he is advised by doctors to undergo a liver transplant.
Fresh medical examination
The ED had taken a stand that it would be appropriate to subject the petitioner to a fresh medical examination at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, following which Sail underwent a medical examination there.
The doctors of AIIMS had opined that the petitioner is required to be admitted once every week to be injected. The petitioner was also advised to avoid crowded places, take clean food and water, avoid catching any infection and undergo evaluation for liver transplant on priority.
In its order read out in an open court, the bench said, “This by itself would indicate that the petitioner may require to be in a fairly sterile environment. If that were to be so and on noticing the medical records a case would be made out without referring to other contentions for enlarging the petitioner on medical bail. Thus taking holistic view of the above facts petitioner be enlarged on bail and court is empowered to do so while exercising discretion under proviso of Section 45, of the PMLA Act.”
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The court, among other conditions, has directed Sail to file an appropriate intimation along with medical reports before the special court in case he leaves the jurisdiction of the Karnataka High Court for medical treatment. He has also been asked to file a report containing his medical condition and relevant parameters before the special court every eight weeks. The court further instructed him to file a report from his doctor in two weeks regarding the liver transplant procedure that he has to undergo.
The court indicated that the full order would be made available at the earliest and till then, extended the interim bail granted earlier.
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