Twin conditions for PMLA bail unmet where funds were linked to layering activity and presumption of proceeds of crime remained unrebutted.

Regular bail under Section 439 CrPC read with Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act requires satisfaction of the twin conditions that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty and is not likely to commit an offence while on bail. On the material collected in investigation, the Court found links between the applicant and receipt and layering of funds traced to the alleged scheduled offences, with the source of the money remaining unsatisfactorily explained. The statutory presumption under Section 24 operated against the applicant, and at the bail stage the court could not treat the funds as untainted. Bail was therefore refused.

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Issues: Whether regular bail should be granted under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 read with Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and whether the statutory twin conditions under Section 45 were satisfied.

Analysis: The applicant was required to satisfy the additional restrictions under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, namely, that there were reasonable grounds for believing that he was not guilty of the offence and that he was not likely to commit any offence while on bail. The Court found that the material collected in investigation linked the applicant to the receipt and layering of funds traced to the alleged scheduled offences, and that the origin of the monies had not been satisfactorily explained. The statutory presumption under Section 24 operated against the applicant, and at the bail stage it could not be said that the funds were untainted or that there were reasonable grounds to believe that he was not guilty.

Conclusion: The twin conditions under Section 45 were not fulfilled and the applicant was not entitled to bail.

Final Conclusion: The application for regular bail failed on merits and was dismissed, with all observations confined to the prima facie stage and without prejudice to the trial.

Ratio Decidendi: In a bail request governed by Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, release cannot be granted unless the court is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the accused is not guilty and is not likely to reoffend, and the statutory presumption regarding proceeds of crime remains unrebutted at the bail stage.

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