Bengaluru, Feb 5 (IANS) The Karnataka High Court on Thursday granted medical bail to Congress MLA Satish K Sail, who is lodged in jail in connection with a money laundering case, to enable him to undergo a liver transplantation.

The court directed MLA Satish Sail to submit a report once every two weeks regarding the liver transplantation. It also instructed him to file a health progress report before the court once every eight weeks.

The court further underlined that Satish Sail should not influence witnesses or hamper the trial proceedings in any manner. In addition, the court directed the MLA to furnish a surety bond of Rs 5 lakh along with a personal surety.

The Congress legislator from Karnataka’s Karwar constituency, Satish K Sail, was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths on September 9, 2025, in Bengaluru on money laundering charges. The arrest was made while MLA Satish Sail was attending an inquiry at the ED office.

Earlier, the ED had conducted raids at the residence of Congress MLA Satish Sail in connection with illegal iron ore export charges on August 13 and 14, 2025, and detected illegal property, cash, and jewels.

The ED sleuths seized a huge quantity of cash and gold. The search operations were conducted in Karwar, Goa, Mumbai, and Delhi, targeting properties owned by Satish Sail.

The ED officials packed the documents, gold, and cash into two trunks.

MLA Satish Sail was the third Congress legislator to be arrested by central agencies at that time.

Chitradurga MLA KC Veerendra and Dharwad Rural MLA Vinay Kulkarni were the other two legislators.

On October 26, 2024, a Special MP/MLA Court handed seven years imprisonment to MLA Satish Sail, in all six cases related to the Belekeri illegal iron ore export case. The court had also imposed a fine of Rs 44 crore on him.

A case in connection with the illegal iron ore export case was lodged in 2010, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted a charge sheet later in the matter. MLA Satish Sail was named as the second accused in the first case.

However, the Karnataka High Court suspended the conviction of Satish Sail in the illegal export of iron ore case on December 21, 2024.

The court also directed authorities not to notify the byelection to the Karwar Assembly constituency till the outcome of his appeal.

The court had barred him from attending the Assembly session. Later, he was arrested by the ED on money laundering charges.

–IANS

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