The mandatory requirement of providing written grounds of arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 serves to safeguard personal liberty, but does not retroactively invalidate arrests made prior to recent jurisprudential clarifications.

JUDGMENT :

Sujit Narayan Prasad, J.

Prayer:

1. The instant writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for holding the detention/arrest of the petitioner since 07.06.2023 and remand since 09.06.2023 in ECIR Case No. 01 of 2023 (arising out of ECIR/RNZO/18/2022) as void ab initio and further for quashing/setting aside the remand order dated 09.06.2023 passed by the learned Special Judge, PMLA, Ranchi and in consequence thereof direction for release of the petitioner from custody in ECIR No. 01 of 2023 (arising out of ECIR/RNZO/18/2022).

Factual Matrix

2. Brief facts of the case, as per the prosecution version, needs to refer herein, which reads as under.

3. An ECIR bearing No. 18/2022 was recorded, on the basis of the FIR bearing No. 141 of 2022 [Bariyatu P.S.] dated 04.06.2022, lodged at Bariyatu police station, Ranchi Jharkhand under Sections 420 , 467 and 471 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE , against one Pradeep Bagchi on the basis of complaint made by one Sri Dilip Sharma, Tax Collector, Ranchi Municipal Corporation, for submission of forged papers i.e., Aadhar Card, Electricity Bill and Possession letter for obtaining holding number 0210004194000A1 and 0210004031000A5. Investigation revealed that by submitting the forged documents, a holding number was obtained in name of Pradeep Bagchi for property at Morabadi Mouza, Ward No. 21/19, Ranchi having an area of the plot measuring455.00 decimals approx.

4. Investigation further revealed that the above property belonged to Late B.M. Laxman Rao which was given to the Army and had been in the possession of the Defence/Army since independence. Investigation also reveals that by way of creating a fake owner (Pradeep Bagchi) of the above said property, it was sold to a company M/s Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd for which the consideration amount was shown to be Rs. 7 crores which was highly under value and out of this amount payment amounting to Rs. 25 lakhs only were made to the account of said Pradeep Bagchi and rest of the money was falsely shown to be paid through cheques in the sale deed being deed no. 6888 of 2021.

5. It has come during investigation that records available at the Circle Officer, Bargain, and Ranchi along with the office of Registrar of Assurances, Kolkata have been altered and records have been modified. The survey of Circle Office Bargain as well as Registrar of Assurances, Kolkata transpires that documents have been tempered to create fictitious owner of the above properties.

6. The Enforcement Directorate, upon completion of investigation, filed the prosecution complaint under Section 45 read with Section 44 of PML Act being ECIR Case no. 01/2023 against the present petitioner and consequently, the trial court vide order dated 19.06.2023 has taken cognizance of the aforesaid offence.

7. The present petitioner was arrested on 07.06.2023 in exercise of power conferred under Section 19 (1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 [hereinafter referred to as "PMLA, 2002"]. Thereafter, he preferred Misc. Cri. Application No. 1915 of 2023 for grant of bail, which was dismissed vide order dated 07.07.2023 by learned Special Judge, CBI-cum-Special Judge under PMLA, Ranchi, against which he moved before this Court by filing bail application being B.A. No. 7343 of 2023, which was also dismissed vide order dated 01.03.2024. After dismissal of the bail application, the petitioner moved before the Hon'ble Supreme Court by filing SLP (Cr.) No. 6584 of 2024, which was dismissed as withdrawn.

8. Thereafter, again the petitioner has renewed his prayer