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TMI Blog2025 (1) TMI 1447X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ction Department for the State of Chhattisgarh and was assigned the additional charge of Managing Director of the CG State Cooperative Marketing Federation Limited (MARKFED) on 20.10.2022 and on 04.06.2023, he was given another additional charge as MD of Chhattisgarh State Civil Supplies Corporation. The details of his arrest are as follows: (i) The applicant was arrested on 30.04.2024 in the subject ECIR without necessary sanction from the concerned government authority. Thereafter the applicant was remanded to police custody of the ED till 04.05.2024 and again was in custody from 10.05.2024 and 15.05.2024. thereafter the applicant was remanded to judicial custody time and again and is now incarcerated in judicial custody at Raipur Central Jail. (ii) The applicant has the following criminal cases pending against him: 1. Income Tax Prosecution Complaint dated 21.08.2023 in the alleged scheduled offence under Section 277 of the Income Tax Act and Sections 181,191,193,417 and 418 of IPC. 2. ECIR/RPZO/04/2023 dated 14.10.2023 in the subject ECIR under Section 3 read with 4 of the PMLA 3. FIR No. 01/2024 dated 16.01.2024 at police station ACB/EOW, Raipur under ?Sections 120-B ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... omplaint. Pertinently, the learned court declined cognizance ofhte offences under Sections 196,200,383,384,420,120-B,34 IPC and took cognizance on the offences under Sections 181,191,193,417 and 418 of IPC in which Sections 417 and 418 are scheduled offences. Since the ACB/EOW had registered the FIR inter alia against the applicant, he sought to withdraw the petition filed before this Court seeking quashing of the ECIR as well as the CIR No. 01/2024. (vi) On 22.03.2024, the applicant filed petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C seeking quashing of the ECIR and FIR No. 01/2024 wherein on 15.04.2024, notice wa issued to the respondents including the ED. On 19.04.2024, the ED registered an addendum ECIR based on the FIR No. 01/2024 registered by ACB/EOW which in turn was registered on the ED's own complaint letter dated 09.01.2024. The petition of the applicant was pending for arguments on interim relief and the ACB had filed its objections, summon was issued to him for appearing before the ACB for recording his statement on 30.04.2024. He was issued another summon by the ED for his appearance on 30.04.2024 and his statement was recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA. Thereafter, the appl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lji Haridas, made an ancillary observation that such search operation is deemed to be a "judicial proceeding" under Section 193, CrPC, and that the relevant Income Tax authority would be deemed to be a civil court for the purpose of Section 195, CrPC. This is as per the express provision made to the effect under Section 196 of the 1961 Act. 61. As adverted to hereinabove, Section 195 of the Code read as a whole unambiguously impose restrictions in the matter of lodgement of complaint qua the offences as mentioned in sub-section (1)(b) thereof in particular and therefore as a corollary, any interpretation for identifying the court/authority/forum contemplated thereby to be competent has to be in furtherance of the restraint and not in casual relaxation thereof. Consequently, therefore the exposition of the provisions of the corresponding substantive law which designs the forums or authorities and confers original and appellant jurisdiction has also to be in aid of the underlying objectives of the restrictions stipulated. Any postulation incompatible with the restrictive connotations would be of mutilative bearing thereon and thus frustrate the purpose thereof, a consequence not ap ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... would generally and ordinarily lie even in the contingencies not referred to in particular in sub section 1 of Section 246. This is more so, to reiterate, in absence of any provision under the Act envisaging the Deputy Director of Income Tax to be an appellate forum in any eventuality beyond those contemplated in Section 246(1) of the Act. Neither the hierarchy of the income tax authorities as listed in Section 116 of the Act nor in the notification issued under Section 118 thereof, nor their duties, functions, jurisdictions as prescribed by the cognate provisions alluded hereto before, permit a deduction that in the scheme of the legislation, the Deputy Director of Income Tax has been conceived also to be an appellate forum to which appeals from the orders/decisions of the I.T.Os./assessing officers would ordinarily lie within the meaning of Section 195(4) of the Code. The Deputy Director of Income Tax (Investigation)-I Bhopal, (M.P.), in our unhesitant opinion, therefore cannot be construed to be an authority to whom appeal would ordinarily lie from the decisions/orders of the I.T.Os. involved in the search proceedings in the case in hand so as to empower him to lodge the complai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ther submitted that Section 409 IPC is not a scheduled offence and Section 120-B IPC cannot be a scheduled offence when it is linked to another scheduled offence. He has placed his reliance in the matter of Pavana Dibbur Vs. ED (2023) SCC OnLine SC1568, wherein it has been held that : ....Unless there is an allegation regarding a conspiracy to commit any scheduled offence, the prosecution under the PMLA cannot lie. Relying upon the proviso to Section 120A of IPC, the learned senior counsel submitted that an illegal act or a legal act by illegal means, in furtherance of an agreement, committed by any person is a sine qua non for attracting the offence of conspiracy under Section 120B of IPC. If Section 120B of IPC can be treated as a standalone offence to attract prosecution under the PMLA, by that logic, a complaint under the PMLA can be filed where the allegation is of criminal conspiracy to commit an offence which is not a scheduled offence. Therefore, she submits that the complaint against the appellant deserves to be quashed." 8. Further contention of the learned counsel for the applicant is that a sanction from the concerned government as envisaged under Section 197 Cr.P.C. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... are not prosecuted for anything they do in the discharge of their duties. This provision is for the protection of honest and sincere officers. However, the protection is not unqualified. They can be prosecuted with a previous sanction from the appropriate government....." 9. He contended that the trial court has taken cognizance of the offence in the prosecution complaint despite the fact that no sanction had been obtained from the Central Government to prosecute the applicant. He submits that without prejudice the applicant is prima facie not guilty of the offence of money laundering and the entire case against him is based upon allegations of extortion and illegal collection of money from the rice millers in the State of CG. He contended that the entire case and allegations are unfounded and baseless. 10. The crux of the case by the ED is that the applicant was assisting the co-accused Roshan Chandrakar in running an alleged extortion racket wherein an amount of Rs. 40/- (Rs. 20+20/-) per quintal was extorted from the custom milled rice out of the special incentive price of Rs. 120/- payable by the State Government to the custom rice millers. A sinister plan to collect illegal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ravamen of the offence is that several persons acting in concert have siphoned off and 'laundered' monies, it is manifestly arbitrary for the ED to have made selective arrests and arraignments. It has also been brought to the notice of this court that Sanjay Godhwani, who may be viewed as one of the main accused in this case, has been granted bail by the learned trial court vide order dated 09.05.2023 in Bail Application No. 688/2023 "... on merits as well as on medical grounds...". This circumstance must also weigh in favour of the petitioner being granted bail, considering that his role in the allegedly offending transactions is evidently far more peripheral than that of co- accused, Sanjay Godhwani." (emphasis supplied) 96. This being the position, the petitioner is also entitled to the benefit of the fact that the main accused, as well as, some other accused have not been arrested and bail has already been granted to other co-accused. 97. Further, the investigation qua the petitioner is complete and the prosecution complaint, as well as, supplementary complaint already stands filed. However, no chargesheet has been filed in the RC despite an ongoing investigation by CBI for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... millers pending till they paid the alleged kickback amount, with regard to this he contended that on the one hand, it is alleged that the applicant had directed the DMOs to forward the bills of only those rice millers who had paid the kickback amount and on the other hand, it is alleged that he used to keep the bills pending at MARKFED till the amount was paid. It is a settled law that in case of contradictions in the statements of the persons recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA and are inconsistent with each other on material aspects then such contradictions and inconsistencies will be one of the factors that will ensure to the benefit of the bail applicant while ascertaining the broad probabilities. He has placed his reliance in the matter of Sanjay Jain Vs. Directorate of Enforcement (2024) SCC OnLine Del 1656, wherein it has been held as under: 56. The principle that emerges from Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (supra), as well as the above decisions as regards the statement recorded under Section 50 of the Act is that such statements are recorded in a proceeding which is deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of Section 193 and Section 228 of the Indian Penal Code ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ive evidence. The prosecution cannot start with such a statement to establish its case. We hold that, in such a situation, the law laid down under Section 30 of the Evidence Act by this Court while dealing with the confession of the co-accused will continue to apply. In Kashmira Singh vs. State of Madhya Pradesh, [1952] SCR 526, this Court neatly summarized the principle as under:- ".... The proper way to approach a case of this kind is, first, to marshal the evidence against the accused excluding the confession altogether from consideration and see whether, if it is believed, a conviction could safely be based on it. If it is capable of belief independently of the confession, then of course it is not necessary to call the confession in aid. But cases may arise where the judge is not prepared to act on the other evidence as it stands even though, if believed, it would be sufficient to sustain a conviction. In such an event the judge may call in aid the confession and use it to lend assurance to the other evidence and thus fortify himself in believing what without the aid of the confession he would not be prepared to accept." Hence, insofar as Afshar Ali's statement is concerned, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... substantive evidence against the other co-accused persons. Therefore all the statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA sought to be relied upon by the ED to substantiate its allegations against the applicant are inadmissible and ought not have formed the basis for denial of bail. He has placed his reliance in the matters of Prem Prakash Vs. ED, SLP (Crl.) No. 5416 of 2024 dated 28.08.2024 ; Haricharan Kurmi Vs State of Bihar, AIR 1964 SC 1184 and Parasmal Lodha Vs. Directorate of Enforcement (2017) SCC OnLine Del 8676. In Haricharan Kurmi (supra), it has been held as under: "13. As we have already indicated. this question has been considered on several occasions by judicial decisions and it has been consistently held that a confession cannot be treated as evidence which is substantive evidence against a co-accused person. in dealing with a criminal case where the prosecution relies upon the confession of one accused person against another accused person, the proper approach to adopt is to consider the other evidence against such an accused person, and if the said evidence appears to be satisfactory and the court is inclined to hold that the said evidence may sustain the ch ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 3) I.L.R. 54 Mad. 75 at p. 77. (3) (1949) 76 I.A. 147 at p. 155. begin with other evidence adduced by the prosecution and after it has formed its opinion with regard to the quality and effect of the said evidence, then it is permissible to turn to the confession in order to receive assurance to the conclusion of guilt which the judicial mind is about to reach on the said other evidence. That, briefly stated, is the effect of the provisions contained in s. 30. The same view has been expressed by this Court in Kashmira Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh(1) where the decision of the Privy Council in Bhuboni Sahu's(2) case has been cited with approval. 16. Considering the evidence from this point of view, we must first decide whether the evidence other than the confessional statements of the coaccused persons, particularly Ram Surat, on whose confession the High Court has substantially relied, is satisfactory and tends to prove the prosecution case. It is only if the said evidence is satisfactory and is treated as sufficient by us to hold the charge proved against the two appellants, that an occasion may arise to seek for an assurance for our conclusion from the said confession. Th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... C OnLine Del 12108 2017 Cri LJ (NOC 301) 89 = 2017 (1) AIR Bom R (Cri) 929 provides, inter alia, that no person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest. This being the fundamental right guaranteed to the arrested person, the mode of conveying information of the grounds of arrest must necessarily be meaningful so as to serve the intended purpose. It may be noted that Section 45 of the Act of 2002 enables the person arrested under Section 19 thereof to seek release on bail but it postulates that unless the twin conditions prescribed thereunder are satisfied, such a person would not be entitled to grant of bail. The twin conditions set out in the provision are that, firstly, the Court must be satisfied, after giving an opportunity to the public prosecutor to oppose the application for release, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the arrested person is not guilty of the offence and, secondly, that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. To meet this requirement, it would be essential for the arrested person to be aware of the grounds on which the authorized officer arrested him/he ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ection 30 of the Evidence Act by this Court while dealing with the confession of the co-accused will continue to apply." 22. In the matter of Haricharan Kurmi Vs. State of Bihar reported in AIR 1964 SC1184, it has been held as under: "13. As we have already indicated. this question has been considered on several occasions by judicial decisions and it has been consistently held that a confession cannot be treated as evidence which is substantive evidence against a co-accused person. in dealing with a criminal case where the prosecution relies upon the confession of one accused person against another accused person, the proper approach to adopt is to consider the other evidence against such an accused person, and if the said evidence appears to be satisfactory and the court is inclined to hold that the said evidence may sustain the charge framed against the said accused person, the court turns to the confession with a view to assure itself that the conclusion which it is inclined to draw from the other evidence is right. As was observed by Sir Lawrence Jenkins in Emperor v. Lalit Mohan Chuckerbuttv(1) a confession can only be used to "lend assurance to other evidence against a co- ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he effect of the provisions contained in S.30. The same view has been expressed by this Court in Kashmira Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh(1) where the decision of the Privy Council in Bhuboni Sahu's(2) case has been cited with approval. XXXX XXXXX XXXX 16. Considering the evidence from this point of view, we must first decide whether the evidence other than the confessional statements of the co-accused persons, particularly Ram Surat, on whose confession the High Court has substantially relied, is satisfactory and tends to prove the prosecution case. It is only if the said evidence is satisfactory and is treated as sufficient by us to hold the charge proved against the two appellants, that an occasion may arise to seek for an assurance for our conclusion from the said confession. Thus considered, there can be no doubt that the evidence about the discovery of blood stains on which the prosecution relies is entirely insufficient to justify the prosecution charge against both the appellants. In our opinion, it is impossible to accede to the argument urged before us by Mr. Singh that the said evidence can be said to prove the prosecution case. In fact, the judgment of the High Cour ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Court. However, this Court is also of the opinion that it is not the non-compliance of Section 41A of Cr.P.C. alone which has been challenged before this Court, but also the manner in which he was arrested, the malafide of arrest and breach of his fundamental rights. Additionally, reliefs such as payment of compensation and taking action against the erring officers who have arrested him without giving him a notice under Section 41A of Cr.P.C. have also been prayed for." 25. Lastly, it has ben contended that the applicant has been suffering from diabetes and hypertension for which he is undergoing treatment at AIIMS, Raipur since 2019. It is submitted that the applicant had also undergone a pyloplasty surgery on account of reduced kidney function as also he is suffering from cervical spondylitis. He submits that since the applicant is suffering from several health issues, under the proviso to Section 45 of the PMLA and therefore he is entitled to the benefit of the proviso. 26. In the matter of Azad Vs. State of GNCT of Delhi and Another, 2023 SCC OnLine Del 1769 wherein it has been held that : 44. The other connecting evidence against the accused persons are the recoveries eff ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ial. The argument that the appellant therein was a flight risk or that there was a possibility of tampering with the evidence or influencing the witnesses, was rejected by the Court. Again, in Satender Kumar Antil v. Central Bureau of Investigation and Another, (2022) 10 SCC 51 this Court referred to Surinder Singh Alias Shingara Singh v. State of Punjab (2005) 7 SCC 387 and Kashmira Singh v. State of Punjab, (1977) 4 SCC 291 to emphasize that the right to speedy trial is a fundamental right within the broad scope of Article 21 of the Constitution. In Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (supra), this Court while highlighting the evil of economic offences like money laundering, and its adverse impact on the society and citizens, observed that arrest infringes the fundamental right to life. 49 In P. Chidambaram v. Central Bureau of Investigation, (2020) 13 SCC 337, the appellant therein was granted bail after being kept in custody for around 62 days. This Court referred to Section 19 of the PML Act, for the in-built safeguards to be adhered to by the authorized officers to ensure fairness, objectivity and accountability. Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (supra), also held that Section 436A of the C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e of the nature of the crime. He has referred to the decision of the Apex Court in the matter of Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh Vs. State of Maharashtra, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1693 wherein it has been observed that : 7. Having heard the learned counsel appearing for the parties and having gone through the materials on record, we are inclined to exercise our discretion in favour of the appellant herein keeping in mind the following aspects: (i) The appellant is in jail as an under-trial prisoner past four years; (ii) Till this date, the trial court has not been able to even proceed to frame charge; and (iii) As pointed out by the counsel appearing for the State as well as NIA, the prosecution intends to examine not less than eighty witnesses. XXXX XXXX XXXX 9.Over a period of time, the trial courts and the High Courts have forgotten a very well settled principle of law that bail is not to be withheld as a punishment. 10. In the aforesaid context, we may remind the trial courts and the High Courts of what came to be observed by this Court in Gudikanti Narasimhulu & Ors. v. Public Prosecutor, High Court reported in (1978) 1 SCC 240. We quote: "What is often forgotten, and therefore ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the applicant submits that the applicant may be granted bail by imposing certain conditions. SUBMISSIONS OF THE RESPONDENT/ED 31. In reply, Dr. Saurabh Kumar Pandey, learned counsel for the respondent/ED submits that an ECIR bearing No. RPZO/04/.2023 was recorded on the basis of a Prosecution Complaint dated 21.08.2023 filed by the Deputy Director of Income Tax before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Raipur wherein it is inter alia alleged that Kailash Rungta, Parasmal Chopra and Roshan Chandrakar who are President, Vice President and Treasurer respectively of the Chhattisgarh State Rice Millers Association along with the present applicant, who was the then Managing Dirctor of CG State Marketing Federation ltd. (MARKFED), Ms. Pritika Pooja Kerketta DMO, Korba and other connected persons have conspired with each other and illegally collected cash from the rice millers in the State of CG for clearing their bills at the rate of Rs. 20/- per instalment for each quintal of paddy processed and thus they have committed the offences under Sections 120-B, 384,417,418 and 420 IPC. 32. During investigation, the ACB/EOW had lodged FIR No.01/2024 dated 16.01.2024 against the applicant and oth ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... PMLA before the trial court seeking grant of regular bail in the subject ECIR which was dismissed after considering the facts and evidence against the applicant which clearly establishes his role in the offence of money laundering. The applicant has failed to satisfy the twin conditions as per Section 45 of the PMLA, therefore the special court has rightly rejected the bail application. 36. Further contention of the counsel for the applicant is that there was every likelihood that if the applicant was enlarged on bail, there is no surety that the applicant will not repeat the said offence and influence the witnesses and tamper with the evidences. He further contended that although the investigation against the applicant is concluded but till date the POC worth Rs. 19 crores (approx.) has only been attached out of 147 crores and the investigation with regard to the role of other persons involved in the offence of money laundering as well as for tracing remaining POC is underway. Therefore the applicant has to mandatorily satisfy the twin conditions enumerated in Section 45 of the PMLA for grant of bail. 37. It is further contended that the instant ECIR was initially recorded on th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y Vs. Union of India SLP (Crl.) NO. 4634/2014, and observed as under: 60. As a matter of fact, prior to amendment of 2015, the first proviso acted as an impediment for taking such urgent measure even by the authorized officer, who is no less than the rank of Deputy Director. We must hasten to add that the nuanced distinction must be kept in mind that to initiate "prosecution" for offence under Section 3 of the Act registration of scheduled offence is a prerequisite, but for initiating action of "provisional attachment" under Section 5 there need not be a pre-registered criminal case in connection with scheduled offence. This is because the machinery provisions cannot be construed in a manner which would eventually frustrate the proceedings under the 2002 Act. Such dispensation alone can secure the proceeds of crime including prevent and regulate the commission of offence of money-laundering. The authorized officer would, thus, be expected to and, also in a given case, justified in acting with utmost speed to ensure that the proceeds of crime/property is available for being proceeded with appropriately under the 2002 Act so as not to frustrate any proceedings envisaged by the 2002 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hing contained in the 1973 Code (2 of 1974), no person accused of an offence under this Act shall be released on bail or on his own bond, unless the stipulations provided therein are fulfilled. On account of the non-obstante clause in Section 45(1) of the 2002 Act, the sweep of that provision must prevail in terms of Section 71 of the 2002 Act. Further, the expression "anticipatory bail" is not used either in the 1973 Code or the 2002 Act. The relief granted in terms of Section 438 of the 1973 Code is one of directing release of the person on "bail" in case of his arrest; and such a relief has been described in judicial pronouncements as anticipatory bail. Section 45(1) uses generic expression "bail" without reference to any provision of the 1973 Code, such as Sections 437, 438 and 439 of the 1973 Code. Concededly, Section 65 of the 2002 Act states that the provisions of the 1973 Code shall apply to the provisions under the Act insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of the 2002 Act. Further, Section 71 of the Act gives overriding effect to the Act. Section 45 of the Act begins with a non-obstante clause, thus excluding the application of the 1973 Code in matters r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion of India allows for curtailing right of citizen as per procedure of law. Moreover, a person is eligible to be released on bail under PMLA only if such person satisfies the twin conditions prescribed under Section 45 of the PMLa. One of the conditions prescribed by Section 45 pertains to the finding by the court that the accused is "not guilty of the offence of Money Laundering" and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. 37. Next contention of the learned counsel for the respondent is that the applicant has not at all gone through any prolonged incarceration nor is the trial delayed. Since there are only two accused in the prosecution complaint filed before the Court and both the accused are in judicial custody, the trial is likely to commence very soon and attain its finality within a reasonable time. 38. It is further contended that the conduct of the applicant towards the investigation and legal procedure must be taken into account while considering his bail application. The applicant has remained absconding for a long time and evaded multiple summons issued to him under Section 50 of the PMLA. He had also influenced Ms. Pooja Pritika Kerketta, DMO not ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force. PMLA has an overriding effect and the provisions of Cr.P.C. would apply only if they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. Therefore, the conditions enumerated in Section 45 of PMLA will have to be complied with even in respect of an application for bail made under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. That coupled with the provisions of Section 24 provides that unless the contrary is proved, the Authority or the Court shall presume that proceeds of crime are involved in money laundering and the burden to prove that the proceeds of crime are not involved, lies on the appellant." 40. From perusal of the Section 45 of PMLA, 2002, it is inferred that the legislature imposed two twin conditions for grant of bail. a) that there should be reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and (b) that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. 41. It is further relevant to submit that the application has to be looked from the prism of twin conditions laid down in the statute itself under Section 45 of the PMLA 2002. These twin conditions are in addition to what limitations have alre ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g of evidence and influencing other concerned persons for not joining the investigation clearly shows his non-cooperative attitude and complete disregard for the rule of law and if he is enlarged on bail, it is likely that he will not keep himself present during trial. 45. It is next contended that this Court in the case of Alok Agrawal Vs. Directorate of Enforcement bearing M.Cr.C. No. 6533 of 2019 dated 03.01.2021, has discussed about the seriousness of the offence of money laundering and its impact on the economy of the country. It has been very categorically stated that the allegations in the Enforcement case Information Report/Prosecution Complaint is a matter of final outcome of the trial but the burden of proof under Section 24 of the PMLA, 2002 with regard tot he said money is not proceeds of crime and is always on the accused person. The relevant para from the above mentioned judgment is produced as under : It is true that at present there may or may not be direct or indirect attempts to indulge the applicant in any process of activity connected with the proceeds of crime, there is no attempt on the part of the applicant to disclose the source of the large sums of money ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for the respondent that by virtue of Section 50 of the PMLA, statements given under this Section are inadmissible as evidence in the court of law. Further the attempt of applicant to weigh the evidences given by Ms. Pooja Pritika Kerketta, Bhaumik Baghel and others should not be allowed at this juncture as it is an established principle that while deciding the bail applications, the courts are not supposed to conduct a mini trial by evaluating each and every piece of evidence. Considering the seriousness of the offence and deep involvement of applicant in the offence is enough to dismiss the bail application. The purpose and object of the legislation in the form 2002 Act and the background in which it had been enacted owing to the commitment made to the international bodies and on their recommendations, it is clear that it is a special legislation to deal with the subject of money laundering activity having transnational impact on the financial system including sovereignty and integrity of the countries. This is not an ordinary offence. To deal with such serious offence, stringent measures are provided in the Act of 2002 for prevention of money laundering, including attachment and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... it cannot be overlooked that sub-section (1) opens with a non-obstante clause and 643 Supra at Footnote No.3 644 Criminal Appeal No.21 of 2022, decided on 4.1.2022 clearly provides that anything contained in the 1973 Code (2 of 1974), no person accused of an offence under this Act shall be released on bail or on his own bond, unless the stipulations provided therein are fulfilled. On account of the non-obstante clause in Section 45(1) of the 2002 Act, the sweep of that provision must prevail in terms of Section 71 of the 2002 Act. Further, the expression "anticipatory bail" is not used either in the 1973 Code or the 2002 Act. The relief granted in terms of Section 438 of the 1973 Code is one of directing release of the person on "bail" in case of his arrest; and such a relief has been described in judicial pronouncements as anticipatory bail. Section 45(1) uses generic expression "bail" without reference to any provision of the 1973 Code, such as Sections 437, 438 and 439 of the 1973 Code. Concededly, Section 65 of the 2002 Act states that the provisions of the 1973 Code shall apply to the provisions under the Act insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of the 200 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... may be accused of the offence of money laundering if he knowingly assists in any process of activity connected with POC. In the instant case, the applicant had knowingly misused his official authority and assisted in implementation of extortion system which caused systematic extortion from rice millers of the State to the tune of Rs. 147 crores approximately. Had the applicant not withheld the bills of rice millers, the other co-accused Roshan Chandrakar would not have been able to force the rice millers to cough up extortion amount. He submits that the applicant has to mandatorily satisfy the rigors of twin condition of bail mandated under Section 45(1) of the PMLA. Considering the grave nature of offence and deep involvement of applicant as established during investigation, the applicant is not entitled for bail and he fails to satisfy the twin conditions under Section 45 of the PMLA as well as triple test for bail. The Apex Court in the mater of Neeru Yadav Vs. State of UP and Another, AIR (SC) (Crl) 2015 (0) 412 made the following observations: "It is a well settled principle of law that while dealing with an application for grant of bail, it is the duty of the Court to take ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rted from the rice millers. It has also been revealed that the rice milers were forced for payment of the same under threat that their incentive bills would not be cleared from the MARKFED. As per Section 50(4) of the PML Act, the statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA has evidentiary value as the proceedings under Section 50(2) and (3) are deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of Section 193 and 228 of the IPC, 1860. 59. The applicant is closely connected with POC as he had deputed some persons at certain place and the cash was not physically taken by him but it was initially demanded by the applicant and payment, he conveyed it to the rice millers over phone. It has come in the statements of some of the rice millers who have personally handed over the extortion amount as demanded by the applicant. In Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation (2013) 7 SCC 439, it has been observed that the economic offences having deep rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds need to be viewed seriously and considered as grave offences affecting the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious threat to the financial hea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hey cooperate with the investigation and trial. According to Black's Law Dictionary, bail is a form of security, such as cash or a bond, required by the court to release a prisoner who must appear in court on a later date. Wharton's Law Lexicon describes bail as setting a person at liberty who has been arrested or imprisoned, based on security taken for their appearance at a specified time as well as place. 63. The principle that bail is the rule and jail is the exception is well-established by judicial pronouncements. This principle is in line with Article 21 of the Constitution, which is the cornerstone of the fundamental rights, safeguarding the rights to life and personal liberty of all citizens of India. In Nikesh Tarachand Shah v. Union of India, (2018) 11 SCC 1, it was held that bail aims to ensure the attendance of the accused at trial and should not be used as a punitive measure as it is intended to facilitate the presence of the accused at trial rather than as punishment. In Gurcharan Singh v. State (UT of Delhi) (1978) 1 SCC 118, the Apex Court acknowledged that no rigid formula governs bail matters and that they should be based on the specific facts and circumstances o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ions under the PMLA are likely to evolve, with the efflux of time. 67. In the present case, it is not acceptable that the applicant was not involved in the offence of money laundering. In fact, the applicant was assisting the co-accused Roshan Chandrakar in running an alleged extortion racket wherein an amount of Rs. 40/- (Rs. 20+20/-) per quintal was extorted from the custom milled rice out of the special incentive price of Rs. 120/- payable by the State Government to the custom rice millers Denial by the applicant itself is not sufficient to consider prima facie that there is no mens rea of the applicant in the said offences. Although the statements of the witnesses are required to be tested at the time of trial, but for the purpose of consideration of bail application, the statements of the witnesses are relevant for consideration of bail application of the applicant. 68. Thus, it cannot be said that there is no involvement of the applicant in the offence in question. The Court after examining the entire documents found substantial material indicating a strong nexus between the applicant and the other accused persons in the commission of the crime. There were documents and evi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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