Prolonged pre-trial incarceration can justify bail even under...

Prolonged pre-trial incarceration can justify bail even under stringent special-statute restrictions when Article 21 concerns are implicated. The Court held that bail under MCOCA and PMLA requires an individualized assessment of custody length, likely trial delay, sentence exposure, delay attribution, and the prima facie role of each accused, rather than treating the statutory embargo as conclusive. Applying that approach, it granted bail to Deepak and Pradeep in the MCOCA case because they had spent nearly five years in custody and their roles were only facilitative. Deepak was also granted bail in the PMLA proceedings, with Section 479 BNSS held applicable and parity with co-accused supporting release.

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