Section 3

The Supreme Court granted bail to Tamil Nadu's former Transport Minister V. Senthil Balaji, in custody for over 15 months under the PMLA, though it could not say there was no prima facie case. Inordinate trial delay and a higher bail threshold cannot go together: Constitutional Courts may grant bail under Article 21 when the trial cannot end within a reasonable time, as with over 2000 accused and 600 witnesses here (paras 13, 14, 17, 25, 27, 29).

The Supreme Court granted bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the CBI and ED excise-policy cases, holding that about 17 months in custody with the trial not even begun violated his right to a speedy trial under Article 21. The right to bail for long incarceration is read into Section 45 PMLA, and courts must recognise that 'bail is rule and jail is exception' (paras 24, 32, 44, 49-54).

The Supreme Court dismissed, with costs of Rs. 1 lakh, a former Deputy Secretary's appeal against refusal of bail in a money-laundering case (paras 2, 30). The first proviso to Section 45 of the PMLA, which allows bail to a woman, is discretionary and "could not be construed as a mandatory or obligatory on the part of the Court to release them" (para 24). The Court also strongly deprecated misstatements made in the special leave petition (paras 12, 15).

The Supreme Court refused bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the CBI and ED cases over the 2021-22 excise policy, finding the allegation that wholesale margins were raised to generate kickbacks tentatively supported. It held, however, that the right to bail on delay and long custody must be read into Section 439 CrPC and Section 45 PMLA, and let him apply afresh if the trial dragged on (paras 21, 25, 28-29).

The Rajasthan High Court dismissed three revision petitions against a Special Court's order of 21.01.2019 taking cognizance under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA in a mines bribery case, and seven Section 482 petitions against the refusal to convert the accused's arrest warrants into bailable warrants (opening paragraph, paras 2, 48, 63). A person accused of money laundering need not have committed the scheduled offence (para 44), and the 2019 Explanation to Section 3 is clarificatory (para 41).