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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA
Pranjal Pandey, S/o Mr. Pawan Kumar Pandey – Appellant
Versus
State Of NCT Of Delhi (Economic Offences Wing) – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA, J.
1. Bail Application under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as "Cr.P.C’) has been filed on behalf of the Applicant, Prabir Purkayastha seeking Anticipatory Bail in FIR No. 116/2020 dated 26.08.2020 under Section 406/420/120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as "IPC‟) registered at Police Station Economic Offences Wing, Delhi Police.
2. Based on the FIR, an Enforcement Case Information Report being ECIR/14/HIU/2020 dated 2 September 2020 (“ECIR”) was recorded under S. 3 and S. 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (“PMLA”) by the Directorate of Enforcement (“ED”). Basis the ECIR, the ED is conducting a separate investigation in the matter and the Applicant has been cooperating with the investigation initiated by the ED.
3. Briefly stated, the Applicant is an Indian citizen aged 28 years and is the Director and Editor of PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd (“PNSPL”) and was appointed as an Additional Director of PNSPL on 12.03.2020. Subsequently was appointed as a Directorof PNSPL on 30.092020.
4. The Applicant has been providing his services to PNSPL as an Editor since 01.06.2016
Anticipatory bail can be granted when a person is not named in an FIR and no risk of tampering with evidence exists, emphasizing the right to freedom of expression.
The court held that in the absence of a Scheduled Offence under the PMLA, personal liberty is paramount, allowing for anticipatory bail due to the lack of substantial allegations against the accused.
An anticipatory bail application can only be filed by persons present in India to ensure compliance with the court's conditions; presence in court is necessary for due process.
A bail application under PMLA can be granted if the accused demonstrates that there are reasonable grounds for believing they are not guilty and are unlikely to commit further offences while on bail.
The court cannot grant anticipatory bail to an applicant residing outside the jurisdiction without evidence of cooperation with ongoing investigations.
The court established that a person cannot be deemed a proclaimed offender without a formal declaration under Section 82(4) CrPC, allowing for the possibility of anticipatory bail.
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