Bengaluru, February 5: The Karnataka High Court granted medical bail to Congress MLA Satish Sail, who is currently imprisoned in a money laundering case. This decision allows him to undergo a liver transplant.
The court instructed Sail to submit a report regarding his liver transplantation every two weeks. Additionally, he must file a health progress report every eight weeks in court.
The court emphasized that Sail should not influence witnesses or obstruct the trial proceedings in any manner. Furthermore, he was ordered to deposit a security bond of ₹5 lakh with personal surety.
Satish Sail, representing the Karwar constituency, was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on September 9, 2025, during an inquiry at the ED office concerning money laundering allegations.
Prior to his arrest, the ED conducted raids at Sail’s residence on August 13 and 14, 2025, related to illegal iron ore exports, seizing illegal assets, cash, and jewelry.
During the search operations targeting Sail’s properties in Karwar, Goa, Mumbai, and Delhi, officials confiscated substantial amounts of cash and gold, packing the documents, gold, and cash into two trunks.
Sail was the third Congress MLA arrested by central agencies, following K.C. Veerendra from Chitradurga and Vinay Kulkarni from Dharwad Rural.
On October 26, 2024, a special M/MLA court sentenced Sail to seven years in prison in connection with six cases related to illegal iron ore exports, imposing a fine of ₹44 crore.
The case regarding illegal iron ore exports was registered in 2010, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) later filing a chargesheet. Sail was named as the second accused in the initial case.
However, the Karnataka High Court stayed Sail’s conviction in the iron ore export case on December 21, 2024. The court also directed that no by-election be announced for the Karwar assembly constituency until the outcome of his appeal is determined.
He was previously barred from attending the assembly session before being arrested by the ED on money laundering charges.