The single-judge bench of the Uttarakhand High Court held that a person accused of an offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as PMLA) should not be released on bail unless the mandatory conditions provided under Section 45 of the PMLA are satisfied.
Brief Facts of the Case:
The present application was filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973 seeking regular bail in connection with the case registered for the offence under Section 3 read with Section 4 of the PMLA.
Contentions of the Parties:
The applicant contended that it is clear from the complaint filed by the respondent that there are no allegations against the present applicant that he ever generated or received any money or handled any proceeds. It was also contended that no reasons were recorded by the prosecution agency in writing to believe that the applicant is in connection with any proceeds of crime.
The respondent contended that the applicant played an active role in inducing the complaints in getting admission to the post-graduation course in HIHT.
Observations of the Court:
The court observed that following Section 45 of the PMLA, the court has to satisfy that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accused is not guilty of such offence and he is not likely to commit any offence, while on bail, to grant bail to the accused.
It was furthermore observed that the expression reasonable grounds mean something more than prima facie grounds. It is imperative to adhere to the legislative obligation. After all, Section 45 of the PMLA begins with the non-obstante clause, which should be given the full interpretation it deserves because it expressly limits the authority to grant bail.
It was noted that on perusal of the record, it is evident that the applicant has been the object in question of severe allegations. Parliament mandates that no one accused of an offence under the PMLA may be released on bail unless the requirements outlined in Section 45 of the PMLA, are met.
Based on these considerations, the court was of the view that no mandatory conditions were satisfied and there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant is not guilty of such offence.
The Decision of the Court
With the above direction, the court rejected the bail application.
Case Title: Sandeep Gupta VS. Directorate of Enforcement (PMLA)
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Alok Kumar Verma
Case No.: First Bail Application No. 754 of 2023
Advocate for the Applicant: Mr. Aditya Singh, Advocate
Advocate for the Respondent: Mr. Atul Bahuguna Central Government Standing Counsel.
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