Personal appearance exemption under Section 205 CrPC is discretionary and requires genuine hardship, the HC held.

Exemption from personal attendance under Section 205 CrPC is a discretionary relief to be granted only where genuine hardship makes attendance unreasonable. The HC found no such hardship because the accused lived and worked in Bhubaneswar, was relatively young, and produced no material supporting the claim that his parents' medical condition required his absence. The Court also noted that the alleged proceeds of crime were limited, so the stringent restriction under Section 45 PMLA was not attracted, but that did not justify exemption from appearance. The refusal to dispense with personal attendance was therefore upheld.

---

---

Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to exemption from personal appearance under Section 205 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 in the prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Analysis: The provision for dispensing with personal attendance is discretionary and is intended to be used sparingly in rare cases where insisting on attendance would cause real hardship. The petitioner was residing and carrying on business at Bhubaneswar, was relatively young, and produced no material to support the plea that his aged parents' medical condition required his absence from court. On the facts, personal attendance could not be treated as causing undue hardship. The Court also noted that the limited amount alleged as proceeds of crime meant that the stringent restriction under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 would not apply, but that did not justify exemption from appearance.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to exemption from personal appearance, and the refusal to grant relief under Section 205 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The challenge to the order refusing exemption from personal appearance failed, and the proceeding was brought to an end by dismissal.

Ratio Decidendi: Exemption from personal attendance under Section 205 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is a discretionary relief to be granted only where personal appearance would cause genuine hardship and the circumstances of the case justify departure from the normal rule of attendance.

---