'Mandatory to consider twin conditions for bail in PMLA cases': Supreme Court sets aside HC order

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it was mandatory to consider the twin conditions prescribed in the anti-money laundering law while deciding the bail pleas of accused persons.

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Prasanna B Varale said granting bail to accused persons in money laundering cases by passing "cryptic orders" without considering the seriousness of the crime and rigours of Section 45 of the PMLA couldn't be vindicated.

The twin conditions in Section 45 of PMLA prescribe that the prosecutor must be given an opportunity to oppose the bail plea and the court must satisfy itself that there were reasonable grounds for believing that accused was not guilty of the offence and not liable to commit any offence on bail.

The bench said it was well settled that the conditions were mandatory in nature and ought to be complied with before releasing the accused on bail.

"It is no more res integra (new thing) that the offence of money laundering is an independent offence regarding the process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime, which had been derived or obtained as a result of criminal activity relating to or in relation to a schedule offence," it added.

The bench said involvement in any such process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime would constitute the offence of money laundering.

"There remains no shadow of doubt that the consideration of the two conditions mentioned in Section 45 (of the Act) is mandatory, and that while considering the bail application, the said rigours of Section 45 have to be reckoned by the court to uphold the objectives of the PMLA," it added.

The bench was acting on an appeal filed by the Enforcement Directorate against an order of the Patna High Court which granted bail to an accused in a money laundering.

The top court therefore set aside the May 2024 order of the high court and remanded it back for a fresh consideration.

The high court "in a very casual manner" without considering the rigours of Section 45 granted bail to the accused on "absolutely extraneous and irrelevant" parameters, it said.

The bench went on to add, "The offence of money laundering is a very serious offence which is committed by an individual with a deliberate desire and the motive to enhance his gains, disregarding the interest of the nation and the society as a whole, and such offence by no stretch of imagination can be regarded as an offence of trivial nature." The top court observed the Act's stringent provisions were made to combat the "menace of money laundering".

It said the burden to prove that proceeds of crime were not involved in money laundering would lie on the person charged with the offence.

Only because the prosecution complaint was filed and the court took cognisance couldn't be a ground or consideration to release the accused on bail, when the mandatory requirements under Section 45 were not complied with.

PMLA, it said, was enacted to deal with the subject of money laundering activities having transnational impact on financial systems including sovereignty and integrity of the countries.

"The offence of money laundering has been regarded as an aggravated form of crime world over and the offenders involved in the activity connected with the proceeds of crime are treated as a separate class from ordinary criminals," it added.

The bench directed the accused to surrender before the special court within a week.