Parity and absence of a registered scheduled offence supported ad-interim bail in money-laundering related proceedings.

Pari materia interim protection was granted where the applicants were similarly placed to a co-accused who had already received ad-interim bail, and parity was treated as a relevant ground for relief. The Court also noted that no scheduled offence had been registered on the date of decision, and that the complaint had been returned for filing before the competent court having territorial jurisdiction. On these facts, the absence of a registered predicate offence and the applicants' footing with the co-accused supported ad-interim bail.

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Issues: Whether the applicants were entitled to ad-interim bail on the ground of parity and in the absence of a registered scheduled offence.

Analysis: The applications were considered in the background of proceedings arising from alleged offences under the Income-tax Act and the Indian Penal Code, along with the enforcement proceedings under the money-laundering regime. The complaint had been returned to be filed before the competent court of territorial jurisdiction, and as on the date of decision no scheduled offence had been registered. One co-accused had already been enlarged on ad-interim bail by the Court. On these facts, the Court held that the applicants stood on the same footing as the co-accused and that parity was a relevant consideration for interim protection.

Conclusion: The applicants were held entitled to ad-interim bail.

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