Charge sheet filed in predicate offence no ground for bail in money laundering case: SC

The Supreme Court has held that filing of a charge sheet in predicate offences cannot be a ground to enlarge an accused on bail in a money laundering case, as both the investigations are distinct and different.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar quashed the Telangana High Court's orders which granted bail to two accused in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with e-tendering scam in Madhya Pradesh.

Allowing appeals by the ED, the court directed the accused, Mantena Constructions Private Ltd chairman Manthena Srinivasaraju and his Bhopal-based associate Aditya Tripathi to surrender within a week. Both were accused of tampering of e-tenders issued by Madhya Pradesh Water Corporation for works worth Rs 1,769 crore allegedly in collusion with senior officials of IT service providers.

The court directed the High Court to examine the matters afresh.

In its judgement, the bench noted that the HC went by the fact that the charge sheet has been filed against the accused but it failed to appreciate that the investigation with respect to the scheduled offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, by the Enforcement Directorate is still going on, the court said.

"Merely because, for the predicate offences the charge sheet might have been filed, it cannot be a ground to release the accused on bail in connection with the scheduled offences under the PML Act, 2002," the bench said.

"Investigation for the predicated offences and the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate for the scheduled offences under the PMLA Act are different and distinct. Therefore, the High Court has gone by the irrelevant consideration," the bench added.