Anticipatory bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act depends on strict satisfaction of Section 45 twin conditions.

In prosecutions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, anticipatory bail is subject to the statutory twin conditions in Section 45, which require a prima facie basis to believe the applicant is not guilty and is unlikely to commit an offence while on bail. The Court treated money laundering as a serious economic offence with the Act's overriding effect and reiterated that Section 438 CrPC is an extraordinary remedy to be used sparingly. On the material before it, the applicant failed to satisfy the Section 45 requirements, so anticipatory bail was not available and the request was rejected.

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Issues: Whether anticipatory bail could be granted to an in a prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 in the face of the statutory restrictions under Section 45.

Analysis: The application arose from allegations of money laundering and the Court assessed the material on record with reference to the mandatory conditions under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The Court treated the offence as a serious economic offence, noted the overriding effect of the Act, and held that the applicant had not shown a case satisfying the statutory requirement that there were reasonable grounds to believe that he was not guilty and would not commit an offence while on bail. The Court also emphasised that anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is an extraordinary remedy to be granted sparingly in appropriate cases.

Conclusion: Anticipatory bail was not available to the applicant and the request was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: In prosecutions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, anticipatory bail cannot be granted unless the statutory twin conditions under Section 45 are satisfied on a prima facie assessment of the record.

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