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TMI Blog2024 (4) TMI 1184X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Collector of 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 measuring 455.00 decimals approx. at Ranchi. 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, in occupation of the Army since independence. Investigation reveals that by way of creating a fake owner (Pradeep Bagchi) of the above said property, it was sold to one company M/s Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd for which the consideration amount was shown Rs. 7 crores which was highly under value and out of this amount Rs. 7 crores payment amounting to Rs. 25 lakhs only were made into the account of said Pradeep Bagchi and rest of the money was falsely shown to be paid through cheques in the deed no.- 6888 of 2021. 5. It has come during investigation that records available at th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nbsp;(iv) The ground of parity has also been taken, since, one of the co-accused namely, Dilip Kumar Ghosh has been granted bail by the co-ordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 28.11.2023 passed in B.A. No.7233 of 2023. 11. Learned counsel for the petitioner, based upon the aforesaid ground, has submitted that the learned court while considering the prayer for bail ought to have taken into consideration all these aspects of the matter both legal and factual but having not done so, serious error has been committed. 12. Further submission has been made in the aforesaid view of the matter as per the ground agitated that it is a fit case where the petitioner is to be given the privilege of bail. Argument on behalf of the learned counsel for the Opp. Party/Directorate of Enforcement 13. Per contra, Mr. Anil Kumar, learned Addl. S.G.I. appearing for the Opp. Party-Directorate of Enforcement has vehemently opposed the prayer for bail by taking the following grounds:- (i) It is incorrect on the part of the petitioner to take the ground that the proceeds of crime are only be said to be proceeds of crime if it is obtained from the scheduled offence. (ii) It has been conten ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d in 1989, the FATF established at the summit of seven major industrial nations held in Paris from 14th to 16th July, 1989, the Political Declaration and Noble Programme of Action adopted by United Nations General Assembly vide its Resolution No. S-17/2 of 23.2.1990, the United Nations in the Special Session on countering World Drug Problem Together concluded on the 8th to the 10th June, 1998, urging the State parties to enact a comprehensive legislation. 19. It is evident from the introduction and Statement of Objects and Reasons accompanying the Bill which became the 2002 Act. The same reads thus: "INTRODUCTION Money-laundering poses a serious threat not only to the financial systems of countries, but also to their integrity and sovereignty. To obviate such threats international community has taken some initiatives. It has been felt that to prevent money-laundering and connected activities a comprehensive legislation is urgently needed. To achieve this objective the Prevention of Money-laundering Bill, 1998 was introduced in the Parliament. The Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance, which presented its report on 4th March, 1999 to the Lok Sabha. The Central ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... claration." 20. It is thus evident that the Act 2002 was enacted in order to answer the urgent requirement to have a comprehensive legislation inter alia for preventing money-laundering, attachment of proceeds of crime, adjudication and confiscation thereof for combating money-laundering and also to prosecute the persons indulging in the process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime. 21. It needs to refer herein the definition of "proceeds of crime" as provided under Section 2(1)(u) of the Act, 2002 which reads as under: "2(u) "proceeds of crime" means any property derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, by any person as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence or the value of any such property 3[or where such property is taken or held outside the country, then the property equivalent in value held within the country] 4[or abroad]; [Explanation.-For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that "proceeds of crime" include property not only derived or obtained from the scheduled offence but also any property which may directly or indirectly be derived or obtained as a result of any criminal activity relatable to the scheduled offence ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 28. It is evident that the "scheduled offence" means the offences specified under Part A of the Schedule; or the offences specified under Part B of the Schedule if the total value involved in such offences is [one crore rupees] or more; or the offences specified under Part C of the Schedule. 29. The offence of money laundering has been defined under Section 3 of the Act, 2002, which reads as under: "3. Offence of money-laundering.-Whosoever directly or indirectly attempts to indulge or knowingly assists or knowingly is a party or is actually involved in any process or activity connected with the [proceeds of crime including its concealment, possession, acquisition or use and projecting or claiming] it as untainted property shall be guilty of offence of money-laundering. [Explanation.- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that,- (i) a person shall be guilty of offence of money-laundering if such person is found to have directly or indirectly attempted to indulge or knowingly assisted or knowingly is a party or is actually involved in one or more of the following processes or activities connected with proceeds of crime, namely:- (a) concealment; or (b) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r to summon any person whose attendance he considers necessary whether to give evidence or to produce any records during the course of any investigation or proceeding under this Act. (3) All the persons so summoned shall be bound to attend in person or through authorised agents, as such officer may direct, and shall be bound to state the truth upon any subject respecting which they are examined or make statements, and produce such documents as may be required. (4) Every proceeding under sub-sections (2) and (3) shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of section 193 and section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). (5) Subject to any rules made in this behalf by the Central Government, any officer referred to in sub-section (2) may impound and retain in his custody for such period, as he thinks fit, any records produced before him in any proceedings under this Act: Provided that an Assistant Director or a Deputy Director shall not- (a) impound any records without recording his reasons for so doing; or (b) retain in his custody any such records for a period exceeding three months, without obtaining the previous approval of the [Joint Dire ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es and convention as our constitution takes note of the institutions of the world community which had been created. In Apparel Export Promotion Council v. A.K. Chopra, the Court observed that domestic Courts are under an obligation to give due regard to the international conventions and norms for construing the domestic laws, more so, when there is no inconsistency between them and there is a void in domestic law. This view has been restated in Githa Hariharan, as also in People's Union for Civil Liberties, and National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India." 36. The implication of Section 50 has also been taken into consideration. For ready reference, the relevant paragraph, i.e., paragraphs422, 424, 425, 431, 434 reads as under: "422. The validity of this provision has been challenged on the ground of being violative of Articles 20(3) and 21 of the Constitution. For, it allows the authorised officer under the 2002 Act to summon any person and record his statement during the course of investigation. Further, the provision mandates that the person should disclose true and correct facts known to his personal knowledge in connection with the subject matter of investigati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Article 20(3) or for that matter Section 25 of the Evidence Act, would come into play only when the person so summoned is an accused of any offence at the relevant time and is being compelled to be a witness against himself. This position is well-established. The Constitution Bench of this Court in M.P. Sharma had dealt with a similar challenge wherein warrants to obtain documents required for investigation were issued by the Magistrate being violative of Article 20(3) of the Constitution. This Court opined that the guarantee in Article 20(3) is against "testimonial compulsion" and is not limited to oral evidence. Not only that, it gets triggered if the person is compelled to be a witness against himself, which may not happen merely because of issuance of summons for giving oral evidence or producing documents. Further, to be a witness is nothing more than to furnish evidence and such evidence can be furnished by different modes. The Court went on to observe as follows: "Broadly stated the guarantee in article 20(3) is against "testimonial compulsion". It is suggested that this is confined to the oral evidence of a person standing his trial for an offence when called to the wit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g adjudication before the Adjudicating Authority. In respect of such action, the designated officials have been empowered to summon any person for collection of information and evidence to be presented before the Adjudicating Authority. It is not necessarily for initiating a prosecution against the noticee as such. The power entrusted to the designated officials under this Act, though couched as investigation in real sense, is to undertake inquiry to ascertain relevant facts to facilitate initiation of or pursuing with an action regarding proceeds of crime, if the situation so warrants and for being presented before the Adjudicating Authority. It is a different matter that the information and evidence so collated during the inquiry made, may disclose commission of offence of money-laundering and the involvement of the person, who has been summoned for making disclosures pursuant to the summons issued by the Authority. At this stage, there would be no formal document indicative of likelihood of involvement of such person as an accused of offence of money-laundering. If the statement made by him reveals the offence of money-laundering or the existence of proceeds of crime, that becom ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nish information of such transactions within the prescribed time in terms of Chapter IV of the 2002 Act. 38. The predicate offence has been considered in the aforesaid judgment wherein by taking into consideration the explanation as inserted by way of Act 23 of 2019 under the definition of the "proceeds of crime" as contained under Section 2(1)(u), whereby and whereunder, it has been clarified for the purpose of removal of doubts that, the "proceeds of crime" include property not only derived or obtained from the scheduled offence but also any property which may directly or indirectly be derived or obtained as a result of any criminal activity relatable to the scheduled offence, meaning thereby, the words "any property which may directly or indirectly be derived or obtained as a result of any criminal activity relatable to the scheduled offence" will come under the fold of the proceeds of crime. 39. So far as the purport of Section 45(1)(i)(ii) is concerned, the aforesaid provision starts from the non-obstante clause that notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, no person accused of an offence under this Act shall be released on bail or on his o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uch offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail: Provided that a person who is under the age of sixteen years, or is a woman or is sick or infirm, [or is accused either on his own or along with other co-accused of money-laundering a sum of less than one crore rupees], may be released on bail, if the Special Court so directs: Provided further that the Special Court shall not take cognizance of any offence punishable under section 4 except upon a complaint in writing made by- (i) the Director; or (ii) any officer of the Central Government or a State Government authorised in writing in this behalf by the Central Government by a general or special order made in this behalf by that Government. [(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (2 of 1974), or any other provision of this Act, no police officer shall investigate into an offence under this Act unless specifically authorised, by the Central Government by a general or special order, and, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.] (2) The limitation on granting of bail specified in [***] subsection (1) is in addition to the limitations under t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Act. While doing so, the Court had adverted to the repealing Act and made the stated observation in the context of lack of legislative power. In the process of reasoning, it did advert to the exposition in Behram Khurshid Pesikaka and Deep Chand7 including American jurisprudence expounded in Cooley on Constitutional Limitations and Norton v. Shelby County." 43. Subsequently, the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Tarun Kumar vs. Assistant Director Directorate of Enforcement, (2023) SCC OnLine SC 1486 by taking into consideration the law laid down by the Larger Bench of the Hon'ble Apex Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary and Ors. Vs. Union of India and Ors. (supra), it has been laid down that since the conditions specified under Section 45 are mandatory, they need to be complied with. The Court is required to be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty of such offence and he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. 44. It has further been observed that as per the statutory presumption permitted under Section 24 of the Act, the Court or the Authority is entitled to presume unless the contrary is proved, that in any proc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f "proceeds of crime". Only if that belief is further supported by tangible and credible evidence indicative of involvement of the person concerned in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime, action under the Act can be taken forward for attachment and confiscation of proceeds of crime and until vesting thereof in the Central Government, such process initiated would be a standalone process. 47. The Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Gautam Kundu vs. Directorate of Enforcement (Prevention of Money-Laundering Act), Government of India through Manoj Kumar, Assistant Director, Eastern Region, reported in (2015) 16 SCC 1 has been pleased to hold at paragraph-30 that the conditions specified under Section 45 of PMLA are mandatory and need to be complied with, which is further strengthened by the provisions of Section 65 and also Section 71 of PMLA. Section 65 requires that the provisions of CrPC shall apply insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act and Section 71 provides that the provisions of PMLA shall have overriding effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force. PMLA has a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... her co-accused who were similarly situated as the appellant, have been granted bail, also cannot be accepted. It may be noted that parity is not the law. While applying the principle of parity, the Court is required to focus upon the role attached to the accused whose application is under consideration. It is not disputed in that the main accused Sh. Kewal Krishan Kumar, Managing Director of SBFL, and KMP of group companies and the other accused Devki Nandan Garg, owner/operator/controller of various shell companies were granted bail on the ground of infirmity and medical grounds. The co-accused Raman Bhuraria, who was the internal auditor of SBFL has been granted bail by the High Court, however the said order of High Court has been challenged by the respondent before this Court by filing being SLP (Crl.) No. 9047 of 2023 and the same is pending under consideration. In the instant case, the High Court in the impugned order while repelling the said submission made on behalf of the appellant, had distinguished the case of Raman Bhuraria and had observed that unlike Raman Bhuraria who was an internal auditor of SBFL (for a brief period statutory auditor of SBFL), the applicant was the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... inder Singh Vrs. State of Punjab and Anr. (supra) has taken the view by making note that the penal offences, as enshrined under the provision of U.A.(P) Act are also under category 'c' making reference that jail is the rule and bail is the exception. 52. Now coming to the grounds, as have been raised on behalf of the learned counsel for the petitioner that even if the entire ECIR will be taken into consideration, no offence will be said to be committed so as to attract the ingredients of Sections 3 & 4 of the P.M.L. Act, 2002. The further ground has been taken regarding the allegation against the petitioner is that the petitioner has cooperated in the illegal transfer of the land pertaining to the land in question, save and except, the said allegation, there is no allegation against the petitioner. 53. While on the other hand, Mr. Anil Kumar, learned counsel appearing for the respondent-E.D. has submitted that there is ample material available in course of inquiry, based upon which, the prosecution report was submitted and hence, it cannot be said that there is no legal evidence. 54. This Court, in order to appreciate the rival submissions, needs to refer herein the relevant par ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Kumar was also present. He further stated that Mr. Chhavi Ranjan after the discussion, directed the Circle Officer Manoj Kumar to conduct verification regarding the claim of Pradip Bagchi from the office of Registrar of Assurances (records), Kolkata. He further stated that he has also committed forgery in another and admeasuring 4.83 acres at Khata no. 53, Mauja Gari, Rance and has prepared its fake deed in name of one Samrendra Chandra Ghoshal, relative of Pradip Bagchi. This has been done in connivance with Shekhar Prasad Mahto @ Kushwaha, Bipin Singh, Priya Ranjan Sahay and others. During his statement dated 20.04.2023 (RUD No. 58) reveals that he works in connivance with Afshar All and on the directions of Afshar Ali, the accused person Talha Khan @ Sunny has transferred the following amount into the bank account of his company F2R constructions Pvt. Ltd. Date Transactions with Talha Khan 18.08.2022 Credit of Rs. 10,00,000 20.08.2022 Credit of Rs. 4,00,000 21.09.2022 Credit of Rs. 2,50,000 13.10.2022 Credit of Rs. 3,00,000 14.10.2022 Credit of Rs. 4,50,000 15.10.2022 Credit of Rs. 5,00,000 17.10.2022 Credit of Rs. 10,00,000 19.10.2022 Credit of Rs, 5,00,000 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... accused person has dealt with several landed properties in a fake and frivolous manner with his associate Afshar Ali and his accomplices namely Bharat Prasad, Lakhan Singh, Rajesh Ral and others. These properties have been sold to different persons in which the cash amount has been distributed between Afshar All, Md. Saddam Hussain, Talha Khan @ Sunny, and other associates which prove that these persons are a part of the racket which are habitually involved in forging documents and falsifying records for acquiring proceeds of crime and later using them and projecting them as untainted property. Faiyaz Khan (Accused No.10)- In his statement dated 13.04.2023 (RUD No. 72) recorded under section 50 of PMLA, 2002 has stated that he knows Afshar Ali since childhood and he drives car for him. He further stated that presently Afshar Ali has been dealing with a piece of land of 4.83 acres at Cheshire Home Road with one Sahay, Kushwaha, Imtiaz and others. He is also working with Afshar Ali in arranging buyers of land. Further, on the directions of Afshar Ali, he has visited several times to Kolkata with Imtiaz Ahmed for bringing deeds of properties, Further, he has stated that Imtiaz a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er Salik Akhtar. On being asked about huge cash deposits amounting to Rs. 87,97,029 in his Axis Bank, Bariyatu account bearing no. 918020064516549 (RUD No. 102), he stated that this was the proceeds of the sales of land and was deposited by him. On being asked about cash withdrawal of Rs. 1,28,74,000 from his above-said account, he provided unsatisfactory answers and was not able to justify his dealings in cash. He also stated that he was also involved in land dealing of 3.81 acres with Afshar Ali and 30-40 decimals of land were sold through him although, he was nowhere on papers. His statement dated 22.04.2023 (RUD No. 70) also reveals that he took several blank cheques of HDFC Bank account of Pradip Bagchi on the directions of Afshar Ali and used these cheques to accept money from buyers and later transfer them to his account or the account of Afshar All. The scrutiny of his bank account 918020064516549 (RUD No. 102) maintained at Axis Bank reveals that during the period 15.06.2019 to 07.03. 2023, there has been total credit of Rs. 12.355621 and these amounts have been debited or withdrawn from the bank account a major portion of this i.e. Rs. 1,26,74,000 has been withdrawn in ca ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Afshar All, he stood as the owner of the property of 60 decimals at Khata no. 29, Plot no. 66ti at Morabadi, P.S Banyatu, Ranchi for money. Afshar All arranged fake deed of the year 1943 and executed it in name of his deceased father Prafulia Bagchi, son of Mohini Bagchi. As per instructions of Afshar All, he executed sale agreement with Talha Khan Sunny. He was shown the agreement dated 19.02.2022 on which he stated that only signature made on page ne 7 of the agreement was made by him and other signatures done on the rest of the pages were not his signatures. He further stated that an account 50200061315883 was opened in his name in HDFC Bank and Afshar Ali and Talha Khan Sunny operated the said account as per their desires. They had also taken their signatures on blank cheques and their passbooks were also taken by them. He further stated that Afshar Ali was the kingpin of the gang who forged registers by creating and inserting extra pages, therefore charging the nature of the land. In his statement dated 25.04.2023 (RUD No. 54), he stated that after summonses were issued to him by the E.D, Ranchi Zonal Office, he had informed about it to Dilip Kumar Ghosh and he informed him ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... anging buyers of fraudulently acquired lands. Entered into an agreement for 60 decimal land situated at Bariyatu, Ranchi for an amount of Rs.4 crores on 19.02.2022. 55. It has come on record that the searches were conducted on 13.04.2023 and 10 numbers of manufactured stamps/seals were seized from the premises of one of the accomplices Faiyaz Khan (accused no. 10). Investigation also revealed that several fake deeds recovered from the possession of the accused Afshar Ali @ Afsu Khan bears the same impression of the seals seized from the possession of Faiyaz Khan. 56. Further, the Registrar of Assurances, Kolkata, formed a fourman committee and conducted an inquiry and submitted their initial report related to the three sale deeds including the land in question and confirmed the manipulation and tampering had been identified in the said sale deeds and accordingly an FIR no. 137 of 2023 dated 10.05.2023 under section 120B, 465, 467, 468 and 471 of IPC was registered at Hare Street P.S, Kolkata on the basis of the complaint of Registrar of Assurances, Kolkata for the above temperance. 57. Further, the Investigation revealed that the accused persons, namely Afshar Ali @ Afsu Khan, M ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... paragraph-8.4 of the prosecution complaint reveals that the petitioner was involved in money laundering. The petitioner, Talha Khan @ Sunny, has also transferred Rs. 44 Lakhs into the bank account of F2R Constructions Pvt. Ltd., which is a company of Md. Saddam Hussain and Imtiaz Ahmed. Thus, it reveals that Afshar Ali, Md. Saddam Hussain, Talha Khan, and Imtiaz Ahmed are accomplices of each other. 60. Further, the petitioner in his statement mentioned in para-8.7 of the prosecution complaint also revealed his involvement in land dealings of 3.81 acres with Afshar Ali, where 30-40 decimals of land were sold through him despite not being documented. He further admitted to taking several blank cheques from the HDFC Bank account of Pradip Bagchi and using the said account to accept money from buyers, which he later transferred to his account or Afshar Ali's account. A scrutiny of his bank account, 918020064516549, maintained at Axis Bank under the name of Talha Khan, reveals that during the period from June 15, 2019, to March 7, 2023, there has been a total credit of Rs.12,35,56,621/-, with a significant portion, Rs.1,28,74,000/-, being withdrawn in cash. 61. Further, it is evi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... itioner, i.e., Talha Khan @ Sunny. Pradeep Bagchi also stated that an account was opened in his name at HDFC Bank, which Afshar Ali and Talha Khan operated according to their wishes. They had also obtained his signatures on blank cheques, and its bank passbooks were also taken by them. 65. The three Judges Bench of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Rohit Tandon vs. Directorate of Enforcement, (2018) 11 SCC 46 has held that the statements of witnesses recorded by Prosecution-ED are admissible in evidence, in view of Section 50. Such statements may make out a formidable case about the involvement of the accused in the commission of the offence of money laundering. 66. In the instant case, it has been found that during the course of investigation from the statements of witnesses recorded under Section 50 that the petitioner had directly indulged, knowingly is as the party and is actually involved in all the activities connected with the offence of money laundering, i.e., use or acquisition, possession, concealment, and projecting or claiming as untainted property. 67. Further, as per the evidence, the accusation against the present petitioner is like that the property in questi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tted that the petitioner along with other co-accused, were working as a team, as per directions of Afsar Ali. He paid money to all of them. He also disclosed that amount Rs. 87,97,029/- cash deposited by him in his Axis Bank, Bariatu account bearing no. 918020064516549. He stated that this amount was the proceeds of the sales of land and was deposited by him. His statement also transpires that he took several bank cheques of HDFC of Pradeep Bagchi on the direction of Afsar Ali and used these cheques to accept money from buyers and later transferred it to his account or the account of Afsar Ali. The scrutiny of the bank account of Talha Khan maintained at Axis Bank reveals that during the period from 15.06.19 to 07.03.23, the amount of Rs. 12,35,56,621/- has been debited or withdrawn from the said bank account. The statement of Pradeep Bagchi recorded in para-8.8 of the case diary also shows the involvement of the petitioner in money laundering. Para-9.6.4 transpires that a diary recovered shown that Rs.18,50,000/- had been given to the petitioner on 13th April to 19th April. These cash amount proves that the petitioner and other coaccused are the members of the racket involved in f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ourt has observed as under: "12. On a perusal of the order passed by the learned trial Judge, we find that he has been swayed by the factum that when a charge-sheet is filed it amounts to change of circumstance. Needless to say, filing of the charge-sheet does not in any manner lessen the allegations made by the prosecution. On the contrary, filing of the charge-sheet establishes that after due investigation the investigating agency, having found materials, has placed the charge-sheet for trial of the accused persons. -" 79. Thus, this Court, after taking note of the settled legal proposition, is of view that the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is not tenable in the eye of law. 80. Thus, from the aforesaid deduction, the involvement of the present petitioner in the alleged crime, prima-facie appears to be true. 81. In this context, it will be purposeful to refer herein the judgment, as rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Rohit Tandon vs. Directorate of Enforcement, reported in (2018) 11 SCC 46, wherein, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has observed that the provisions of Section 24 of the PMLA provide that unless the contrary is proved, the authority or the Co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that the proceeds of crime are not involved, lies on the appellant. 86. As discussed above, the "offence of money-laundering" means whosoever directly or indirectly attempts to indulge or knowingly assists or knowingly is a party or is actually involved in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime including its concealment, possession, acquisition or use and projecting or claiming it as untainted property shall be guilty of offence of money-laundering and the process or activity connected with proceeds of crime is a continuing activity and continues till such time a person is directly or indirectly enjoying the proceeds of crime by its concealment or possession or acquisition or use or projecting it as untainted property or claiming it as untainted property in any manner whatsoever. 87. Further, it is evident from the judicial pronouncement as discussed above that in order to constitute any property as proceeds of crime, it must be derived or obtained directly or indirectly by any person as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence. The explanation clarifies that the proceeds of crime include property, not only derived or obtained from sche ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sider the totality of circumstances before granting bail. This Court observed : (SCC p. 515, para 17) "17. Coming to the case at hand, it is found that when a stand was taken that the second respondent was a history-sheeter, it was imperative on the part of the High Court to scrutinise every aspect and not capriciously record that the second respondent is entitled to be admitted to bail on the ground of parity. It can be stated with absolute certitude that it was not a case of parity and, therefore, the impugned order [Mitthan Yadav v. State of U.P., 2014 SCC OnLine All 16031] clearly exposes the non-application of mind. That apart, as a matter of fact it has been brought on record that the second respondent has been charge-sheeted in respect of number of other heinous offences. The High Court has failed to take note of the same. Therefore, the order has to pave the path of extinction, for its approval by this Court would tantamount to travesty of justice, and accordingly we set it aside. 26. Another aspect of the case which needs emphasis is the manner in which the High Court has applied the principle of parity. By its two orders both dated 21-12- 2020 [Pravinbhai Hirabhai K ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the aforesaid judgment reads as under: "19. It is axiomatic that the principle of parity is based on the guarantee of positive equality before law enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution. However, if any illegality or irregularity has been committed in favour of any individual or a group of individuals, or a wrong order has been passed by a judicial forum, others cannot invoke the jurisdiction of the higher or superior court for repeating or multiplying the same irregularity or illegality or for passing similar wrong order. Article 14 is not meant to perpetuate the illegality or irregularity. If there has been a benefit or advantage conferred on one or a set of people by any authority or by the court, without legal basis or justification, other persons could not claim as a matter of right the benefit on the basis of such wrong decision." 93. Now this court is adverting into facts of instant case to decide the issue of parity in the backdrop of aforesaid settled legal ratio and further taken into consideration the aforesaid settled position of law, deems it fit to refer herein distinguishable facts in the case of present petitioner to that of the case of Dilip Kumar Ghosh, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... etitioner is different to that of the said Dilip Kumar Ghosh as per the allegation and it is pertinent to mention here that the bail of accused no.3 Amit Kumar Agarwal has already been rejected by this Court vide order dated 01.03.2024 passed in B.A. No. 7343 of 2023. 100. Further, even accepting the said Dilip Kumar Ghosh has been granted bail, however, this Court is of the view that the Dilip Kumar Ghosh has also parted with the forgery and he has been granted bail by the coordinate Bench of this Court. 101. However, this Court is not making any comment upon the order passed by the coordinate bench but as has been held by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Tarun Kumar vs. Assistant Director Directorate of Enforcement (supra), wherein, at paragraph 19, the principle has been laid down that Article 14 since envisages the positive equality and not the negative equality and even accepting that the said Dilip Kumar Ghosh has been granted bail, the same cannot be given any aid to the petitioner in view of the applicability of the principle that the Article 14 of the Constitution of India does not envisage the negative equality, rather, it envisages the positive equality. 102. Fur ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interests of the public/State and other similar considerations. It has also to be kept in mind that for the purpose of granting bail, the legislature has used the words "reasonable grounds for believing" instead of "the evidence" which means the court dealing with the grant of bail can only satisfy itself as to whether there is a genuine case against the accused and that the prosecution will be able to produce prima facie evidence in support of the charge. It is not expected, at this stage, to have the evidence establishing the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. 25. Economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail. The economic offence having deeprooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds needs to be viewed seriously and considered as a grave offence affecting the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious threat to the financial health of the country." 104. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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