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PRABHAT KUMAR SINGH
Rajesh Kumar Agarwal @ Rajesh Kumar Agrawal – Appellant
Versus
Union of India – Respondent
Prabhat Kumar Singh, J.—This is an application for grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioner in connection with Special Trial No. (PMLA) 02 of 2018 arising out of ECIR No. PTZO/05/2016 dated 18.07.2018 instituted for offences punishable under Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (for short “PMLA”).
2. Short fact of the case is that one Gaya Civil Line P.S. Case No. 339 of 2016 was instituted on the complaint of one Sri Shashi Kumar alleging regarding misutilization of the Bank Account of his brother and his firm by the Bank Officials as huge cash amount was deposited and transferred to another accounts without their knowledge. Similarly, an F.I.R., vide Gaya P.S. Case No. 340 of 2016, was instituted by one Sri Rajesh Kumar regarding misutilization of his and his wife's Bank Account by the Bank Officials as huge cash amount was deposited and transferred to another accounts without their knowledge. The aforesaid FIRs were registered for the offences punishable under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 469, 471 and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code. Thereafter, on the basis of letter of Superintendent of Police, Economic Offences Unit, Patna, ECIR No. PTZO/05/2016 dated
Once cognizance is taken under the PMLA, the Special Court lacks jurisdiction to arrest the accused, and bail matters must align with the Criminal Procedure Code provisions.
The stringent conditions set by Section 45 of the P.M.L. Act for granting bail in money laundering cases were central to the court's decision.
The mandatory conditions under Section 45 of PMLA for granting anticipatory bail were not satisfied, emphasizing economic offences' serious nature.
The provisions of S.45 of the PMLA do not apply to anticipatory bail proceedings, allowing for bail grants based on case-specific circumstances.
The gravity of economic offences, potential influence on witnesses and evidence, and the failure to satisfy the twin conditions for bail under Section 45 of the PMLA were central to the court's decis....
The main legal point established in the judgment is the discretion to grant bail to women accused under the first proviso to Section 45 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002.
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