Formal arrest during existing judicial custody does not automatically breach the 24-hour production rule under money laundering law.

A formal arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act does not fail merely because the person is already in judicial custody in another case. Where the accused is not taken into physical custody by the arresting agency, the 24-hour production requirement is not applied in the same manner as a regular arrest. The special statutory scheme governing arrest and remand, read with the provision giving it effect despite the Code of Criminal Procedure where consistent, was treated as controlling. On that basis, the arrest was held not vitiated for breach of the production requirement, and the challenge to the arrest order failed.

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Issues: Whether the formal arrest of a person already in judicial custody in another case was invalid for non-production within 24 hours under Section 19(3) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Analysis: The petitioner was formally arrested while already lodged in judicial custody in a different case. The arrest order and the subsequent proceedings before the Special Court showed that the person had not been taken into physical custody by the Enforcement Directorate. In that situation, the requirement of production within 24 hours under Section 19(3) was held not to apply in the same manner as it would when the arrested person is actually taken into physical custody. The Court also relied on the statutory scheme of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, particularly Section 65, and the settled principle that the special enactment governs the arrest and remand process where it is not inconsistent with the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Conclusion: The arrest was not vitiated for alleged breach of Section 19(3), and the challenge to the arrest order failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a person is already in judicial custody in another case, a formal arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 can be effected without requiring production within 24 hours before a Magistrate, since the accused is not in the physical custody of the arresting agency and the special statutory procedure stands complied with.

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