Medical bail under PMLA may be justified where serious illness requires specialised treatment beyond custody care.

Interim bail under the medical exception in the first proviso to Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 may be justified where custody cannot adequately address a serious or infirm medical condition. The stated standard is whether the illness is life-endangering, requires specialised treatment, and cannot be effectively managed in jail or custody. On the facts described, persistent injury, repeated referrals, high-risk surgery status, and the need for specialised hospital care were treated as satisfying that threshold, and temporary release was granted for surgery on medical and humanitarian grounds.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner, facing custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, was entitled to interim bail on medical grounds under the first proviso to Section 45 of that Act.

Analysis: The statutory bar under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 was treated as the governing rule, with the first proviso carving out an exception for a person who is sick or infirm. The relevant standard was whether the ailment was serious, life-endangering, and incapable of adequate treatment in custody or in jail hospital, and whether specialised medical intervention was required. On the facts, the medical record disclosed persistent elbow injury, repeated referrals, high-risk status for surgery, and a need for treatment in a specialised hospital. The Court also accepted that the petitioner had not received stable and effective treatment despite multiple hospital admissions and that the prevailing medical condition justified temporary release for surgery.

Conclusion: The petitioner satisfied the requirement of being sick or infirm for the purpose of the first proviso to Section 45, and interim bail was granted for undergoing surgery.

Final Conclusion: Temporary release was justified on medical and humanitarian grounds, and the petitioner was directed to surrender after the limited interim period on terms fixed by the Court.

Ratio Decidendi: Interim bail under the medical exception to Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 may be granted where the accused's condition is shown to be sufficiently serious, requires specialised treatment, and cannot be adequately managed in custody.

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