Changed circumstances and trial delay justified bail under PMLA despite statutory rigour and earlier refusal.

Changed circumstances and continued delay justified regular bail in a PMLA prosecution after an earlier refusal. The court held that successive bail applications are maintainable where fresh developments materially alter the position, including bail in the predicate offence, filing of the charge sheet there, a supplementary complaint against other accused without arrest, and the case still remaining at the pre-cognizance stage with a large record and many witnesses. Applying Article 21, the court found prolonged incarceration without a realistic prospect of early trial could outweigh the statutory rigour of PMLA bail restrictions, and granted conditional liberty to the petitioner.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner, after an earlier refusal of bail, established changed circumstances and continued delay in the proceedings sufficient to justify grant of regular bail in a prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Analysis: The Court noted that successive bail applications are maintainable when fresh circumstances arise and that the earlier rejection does not bar reconsideration if subsequent developments materially alter the position. It examined the post-order changes, including grant of bail to the petitioner in the predicate offence, filing of the charge sheet there, filing of a supplementary complaint against other accused in the money-laundering case without their arrest, and the continued pre-cognizance stage with a voluminous record and numerous witnesses. The Court also relied on the constitutional primacy of Article 21 and the principle that prolonged incarceration without realistic prospects of early trial may outweigh the statutory rigour of bail restrictions under the PMLA.

Conclusion: The petitioner was held entitled to bail on the ground of changed circumstances and continued delay, and the plea for bail was allowed.

Final Conclusion: The proceedings were not finally advanced to trial in a manner that justified further incarceration, and conditional liberty was granted to the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: In a PMLA case, where subsequent material developments show genuine changed circumstances and the trial remains unlikely to conclude within a reasonable time, the constitutional protection of personal liberty under Article 21 can justify grant of bail notwithstanding the rigour of Section 45.

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