Arrest warrants for summons were converted into bailable warrants after the Court found the initial process unjustified.

Arrest warrants issued to secure the petitioner's appearance in a complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act were treated as an excessive first-instance process, because arrest warrants should not ordinarily be used merely to summon an accused. Exercising inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC, the Court found the request to modify the mode of appearance justified and converted the arrest warrants into bailable warrants. The petition was accordingly disposed of by substituting bailable warrants for arrest warrants.

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Issues: Whether the arrest warrants issued to summon the petitioner should be converted into bailable warrants in exercise of inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: The petition challenged the summoning process whereby the petitioner was directed to appear through arrest warrants in a complaint case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Relying on the principle that arrest warrants should not ordinarily be issued in the first instance for summoning an accused, the Court found the request for modification of the process to be justified.

Conclusion: The arrest warrants were converted into bailable warrants, granting relief to the petitioner.

Final Conclusion: The petition was disposed of by modifying the mode of appearance from arrest warrants to bailable warrants.

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