Bail under PMLA turns on prima facie guilt where amended Section 45 restrictions remain unsettled.

Bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was considered in a petition under Section 439 CrPC linked to a scheduled NDPS predicate offence. The court noted that the post-amendment twin conditions in Section 45 and the effect of pending Section 319 proceedings remained unsettled before the Supreme Court, and therefore no firm prima facie finding of guilt could be made at the bail stage. It also found that the prosecution material was insufficient to justify continued custody merely on a speculative link to the predicate offence. Bail was granted, subject to conditions, without expressing any final view on the merits.

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Issues: Whether bail should be granted to the petitioner under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 despite the post-amendment twin conditions in Section 45 and the pending uncertainty regarding the Section 319 proceedings in the predicate offence.

Analysis: The petition was under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the alleged money-laundering accusation was linked to a scheduled NDPS offence. The Court noted that the validity and effect of the later amendment to Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and the consequences of the pending questions arising from the Section 319 proceedings, remained unsettled before the Supreme Court. In that setting, the Court held that no firm prima facie conclusion could be drawn that the petitioner had committed the predicate offence or the money-laundering offence. The Court also found that the prosecution material recorded in 2021, after conviction in the predicate case, did not furnish sufficient confidence at the bail stage, and that the circumstances favoured release rather than continued custody.

Conclusion: Bail was granted to the petitioner.

Final Conclusion: The decision proceeds on bail discretion in favour of personal liberty, subject to conditions, without expressing any final view on the merits of the prosecution case.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the legality and effect of the amended bail restrictions under the money-laundering law are still sub judice and the material does not permit a firm prima facie finding of guilt, bail should not be withheld merely on speculative linkage to the predicate offence.

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