Interim bail under PMLA granted where the surviving offences were not scheduled offences and no predicate offence remained.

Interim bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 was granted where the only earlier scheduled offence, Section 384 IPC, did not survive in the later charge-sheet and the remaining allegations under Sections 204 and 353 IPC were not scheduled offences. The Court also noted that no Section 384 IPC offence had yet been registered by the police and that the petitioner had remained in custody for a substantial period. On that prima facie basis, temporary release was ordered while time was given for the investigation status to be placed on record, subject to bail bonds to the satisfaction of the Special Court.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to interim bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 in the absence of any surviving predicate offence and in view of the status of the connected police investigation.

Analysis: The material before the Court showed that the only scheduled offence earlier relied upon, namely Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, was not reflected in the subsequent charge-sheet, which proceeded only on Sections 204 and 353 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Those remaining offences were not scheduled offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The Court also noted that no offence under Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 had yet been registered by the Chhattisgarh Police and that the petitioner had already spent substantial time in custody. On these facts, the Court found a prima facie strong case for temporary release while granting time to the Enforcement Directorate to place the status of the investigation on record.

Conclusion: Interim bail was granted to the petitioner subject to furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the Special Court.

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