TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (4) TMI 1177
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....ring Act, 2002, was initiated by recording an ECIR bearing no. 3/2022 based on the FIR no. 85/2020 dt. 22.06.2020 of one Sambhu Nandan Kumar at Barharwa Police Station, Distt-Sahebganj, Jharkhand against accused Pankaj Mishra and others. It is alleged that the accused persons threatened the above complainant over the phone not to participate in the tender of Barharwa Toll, and on the refusal of which the complainant was attacked by a mob, on the behest of the accused persons. Subsequently, the charge sheet no. 231/2020 dated 30.11.2020 was filed in the court at Rajmahal, DisttSahebganj. Further, the agency took several other FIRs related to the matter along with the above case to investigate the instant case. It was revealed during the investigation that the vehicles carrying the mined items (Mainly stone chips) had to cross Barharwa Toll before reaching the main roads. It was also revealed that apart from mining under valid licenses, a vast quantity of mining is being carried out illegally in Sahibganj District and adjoining areas. It also revealed that the accused person, Pankaj Mishra, is involved in the illegal collection of levies from the trucks carrying stone chips through ....
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.... Application No. 2850 of 2023 for grant of his bail but the same was dismissed vide order dated 09.10.2023 by the learned Spl. Judge, PML Act, Ranchi. Hence the present petition has been preferred for the grant of bail. Argument on behalf of the learned counsel for the petitioner : 3. Mr. S. Nagamuthu, learned senior counsel for the petitioner has argued inter alia on the following grounds: i. The petitioner has not been shown as an accused in the scheduled offence so merely by inserting penal offence under Section 120-B of IPC, the offence said to be committed under Section 3 of the PML Act, 2002 will not be attracted. ii. The ground has been taken that the FIR is dated 22.06.2020 and after lapse of two years, the ECIR has been instituted, hence, it is nothing but an afterthought. iii. There are altogether three complaints apart from the original ECIR. In the ECIR three persons have been arrayed as an accused, namely, Pankaj Mishra, Prem Prakash and Pashupati Yadav. In the first complaint, Pankaj Mishra; Bachhu Yadav and; Prem Prakash have been arrayed as accused, in the second complaint, Pashupati Yadav has been arrayed as an accused and in the third complaint, Krishna ....
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.... the other hand, Mr. Anil Kumar, learned Additional Solicitor General of India for the opposite party-Enforcement Directorate has vehemently opposed the prayer for grant of regular bail by taking the following grounds: (i) It is incorrect on the part of the petitioner to take the ground that the case is of illegal mining only rather if the entire complaint will be taken into consideration, then various FIRs have also been made subject matter of the enquiry. The FIRs were also instituted on the basis of the direction of the National Green Tribunal which were under investigation. (ii) The ground which has been taken that the instant case is not under scheduled offence, cannot be said to be correct argument reason being that if the all FIRs which has been made subject matter of the ECIR will be taken into consideration, it is evident therefrom that the allegation has been levelled against the petitioner under Section 411 and 414 of Indian Penal Code which are scheduled offence, hence, the ground that the alleged offence is not coming under the fold of the Schedule Offence, is contrary to the record. (iii) It has been revealed in the investigation that the petitioner is closely a....
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....bail application has already been rejected. 7. Learned ASGI for the opposite party-ED, based upon the aforesaid grounds, has submitted that since the nature of allegation committed by the present petitioner is identical to that of Pankaj Mishra to the extent that he has been found to be a close associate while against Krishna Kumar Saha no such allegation is there, as such, the instant bail application is fit to be rejected. Analysis 8. This Court, before appreciating the argument advanced on behalf of the parties, deems it fit and proper to discuss herein some of the provision of law as contained under the Act, 2002 with its object and intent. 9. The Act was enacted to address the urgent need to have a comprehensive legislation inter alia for preventing money-laundering, attachment of proceeds of crime, adjudication and confiscation thereof including vesting of it in the Central Government, setting up of agencies and mechanisms for coordinating measures for combating money-laundering and also to prosecute the persons indulging in the process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime. The issues were debated threadbare in the United Nation Convention Against Illicit Traf....
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....mine the problem of money-laundering has made forty recommendations, which provide the foundation material forcomprehensive legislation to combat the problem of money- laundering. The recommendations were classified under various heads. Some of the important heads are- (i) declaration of laundering of monies carried through serious crimes a criminal offence; (ii) to work out modalities of disclosure by financial institutions regarding reportable transactions; (iii) confiscation of the proceeds of crime; (iv) declaring money-laundering to be an extraditable offence; and (v) promoting international co-operation in investigation of money- laundering. (d) the Political Declaration and Global Programme of Action adopted by United Nations General Assembly by its Resolution No. S-17/2 of 23rd February, 1990, inter alia, calls upon the member States to develop mechanism to prevent financial institutions from being used for laundering of drug related money and enactment of legislation to prevent such laundering. (e) the United Nations in the Special Session on countering World Drug Problem Together concluded on the 8th to the 10th June, 1998 has made another declaration regardin....
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....g to a scheduled offence or the value of any such property or where such property is taken or held outside the country but by way of explanation the proceeds of crime has been given broader implication by including property not only derived or obtained from the scheduled offence but also any property which may directly or indirectly be derived or obtained as a result of any criminal activity relatable to the scheduled offence. 15. The "property" has been defined under Section 2(1)(v) which means any property or assets of every description, whether corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible and includes deeds and instruments evidencing title to, or interest in, such property or assets, wherever located. 16. The schedule has been defined under Section 2(1)(x) which means schedule to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The "scheduled offence" has been defined under Section 2(1)(y) which reads as under: "2(y) "scheduled offence" means- (i) the offences specified under Part A of the Schedule; or (ii) the offences specified under Part B of the Schedule if the total value involved in such offences is [one crore rupees] or more; or (iii) the offenc....
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....cquisition or use or projecting it as untainted property or claiming it as untainted property in any manner whatsoever. 21. The punishment for money laundering has been provided under Section 4 of the Act, 2002. Section 50 of the Act, 2002 confers power upon the authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence. For ready reference, Section 50 of the Act, 2002 is quoted as under: "50. Powers of authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence, etc.-(1) The Director shall, for the purposes of section 13, have the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) while trying a suit in respect of the following matters, namely:- (a) discovery and inspection; (b) enforcing the attendance of any person, including any officer of a [reporting entity] and examining him on oath; (c) compelling the production of records; (d) receiving evidence on affidavits; (e) issuing commissions for examination of witnesses and documents; and (f) any other matter which may be prescribed. (2) The Director, Additional Director, Joint Director, Deputy Director or Assistant Director shall have power to summon ....
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....e accepted, it would follow that it is only upon projecting or claiming the property in question as untainted property, the offence would be complete. This would undermine the efficacy of the legislative intent behind Section 3 of the Act and also will be in disregard of the view expressed by the FATF in connection with the occurrence of the word "and" preceding the expression "projecting or claiming" therein. This Court in Pratap Singh v. State of Jharkhand, enunciated that the international treaties, covenants and conventions although may not be a part of municipal law, the same be referred to and followed by the Courts having regard to the fact that India is a party to the said treaties. This Court went on to observe that the Constitution of India and other ongoing statutes have been read consistently with the rules of international law. It is also observed that the Constitution of India and the enactments made by Parliament must necessarily be understood in the context of the present-day scenario and having regard to the international treaties and convention as our constitution takes note of the institutions of the world community which had been created. In Apparel Export Promo....
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....ier part of this judgment and held that it applies to proceeding before the Adjudicating Authority or the Special Court, as the case may be. Nevertheless, sub-section (2) empowers the authorised officials to issue summon to any person. We fail to understand as to how Article 20(3) would come into play in respect of process of recording statement pursuant to such summon which is only for the purpose of collecting information or evidence in respect of proceeding under this Act. Indeed, the person so summoned, is bound to attend in person or through authorised agent and to state truth upon any subject concerning which he is being examined or is expected to make statement and produce documents as may be required by virtue of sub-section (3) of Section 50 of the 2002 Act. The criticism is essentially because of subsection (4) which provides that every proceeding under sub-sections (2) and (3) shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of Sections 193 and 228 of the IPC. Even so, the fact remains that Article 20(3) or for that matter Section 25 of the Evidence Act, would come into play only when the person so summoned is an accused of any offence at the relevant time ....
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....Nor is there any reason to think that the protection in respect of the evidence so procured is confined to what transpires at the trial in the court room. The phrase used in article 20(3) is "to be a witness" and not to "appear as a witness". It follows that the protection afforded to an accused in so far as it is related to the phrase "to be a witness" is not merely in respect of testimonial compulsion in the court room but may well extend to compelled testimony previously obtained from him. It is available therefore to a person against whom a formal accusation relating to the commission of an offence has been levelled which in the normal course may result in prosecution. Whether it is available to other persons in other situations does not call for decision in this case." (emphasis supplied) 431. In the context of the 2002 Act, it must be remembered that the summon is issued by the Authority under Section 50 in connection with the inquiry regarding proceeds of crime which may have been attached and pending adjudication before the Adjudicating Authority. In respect of such action, the designated officials have been empowered to summon any person for collection of information and....
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.... invested in the officials is one for conducting inquiry into the matters relevant for ascertaining existence of proceeds of crime and the involvement of persons in the process or activity connected therewith so as to initiate appropriate action against such person including of seizure, attachment and confiscation of the property eventually vesting in the Central Government." 24. It is evident from the observation so made as above that the purposes and objects of the 2002 Act for which it has been enacted, is not limited to punishment for offence of money-laundering, but also to provide measures for prevention of money-laundering. It is also to provide for attachment of proceeds of crime, which are likely to be concealed, transferred or dealt with in any manner which may result in frustrating any proceeding relating to confiscation of such proceeds under the 2002 Act. This Act is also to compel the banking companies, financial institutions and intermediaries to maintain records of the transactions, to furnish information of such transactions within the prescribed time in terms of Chapter IV of the 2002 Act. 25. The predicate offence has been considered in the aforesaid judgment w....
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.... Ors. Vs. Union of India and Ors.(supra) at paragraphs-372-374. For ready reference, the said paragraphs are being referred as under: "372. Section 45 has been amended vide Act 20 of 2005, Act 13 of 2018 and Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019. The provision as it obtained prior to 23.11.2017 read somewhat differently. The constitutional validity of Sub-section (1) of Section 45, as it stood then, was considered in Nikesh Tarachand Shah. This Court declared Section 45(1) of the 2002 Act, as it stood then, insofar as it imposed two further conditions for release on bail, to be unconstitutional being violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The two conditions which have been mentioned as twin conditions are: (i) that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence; and (ii) that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. 373. According to the petitioners, since the twin conditions have been declared to be void and unconstitutional by this Court, the same stood obliterated. To buttress this argument, reliance has been placed on the dictum in State of Manipur. 374. The first issue to be answered by us is: whether the twin conditions....
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....tions specified under Section 45 are mandatory. They need to be complied with. The Court is required to be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty of such offence and he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. It is needless to say that as per the statutory presumption permitted under Section 24 of the Act, the Court or the Authority is entitled to presume unless the contrary is proved, that in any proceedings relating to proceeds of 17 A.B.A. No. 10671 of 2023 crime under the Act, in the case of a person charged with the offence of money laundering under Section 3, such proceeds of crime are involved in money laundering. Such conditions enumerated in Section 45 of PML Act will have to be complied with even in respect of an application for bail made under Section 439 Cr. P.C. in view of the overriding effect given to the PML Act over the other law for the time being in force, under Section 71 of the PML Act." 31. The Hon'ble Apex Court in the said judgment has further laid down that the twin conditions as to fulfil the requirement of Section 45 of the Act, 2002 before granting the benefit of bail is to be adhered to which....
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....ion 71 provides that the provisions of PMLA shall have overriding effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force. PMLA has an overriding effect and the provisions of CrPC would apply only if they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. 34. Therefore, the conditions enumerated in Section 45 of PMLA will have to be complied with even in respect of an application for bail made under Section 439 CrPC. That coupled with the provisions of Section 24 provides that unless the contrary is proved, the authority or the Court shall presume that proceeds of crime are involved in money-laundering and the burden to prove that the proceeds of crime are not involved, lies on the appellant. For ready reference, paragraph-30 of the said judgment reads as under: "30. The conditions specified under Section 45 of PMLA are mandatory and need to be complied with, which is further strengthened by the provisions of Section 65 and also Section 71 of PMLA. Section 65 requires that the provisions of CrPC shall apply insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act and Section 71 provides that the provisions of P....
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....A, 2002. Thereafter, Accused No. 6 (Bhagwan Bhagat) and Accused No. 7 (Tinkal Kumar Bhagat) were subsequently arrested on 07.07.2023 owing to their involvement in the offence of money laundering. 8. Brief detail of persons examined u/s 50(2) & (3) of PMLA 8.2 Bhagwan Bhagat (Accused No.6)- In his statement dated 06.08.2022 (RUD No. 13) recorded under section 50 of PMLA, 2002, it is revealed that he looks after the business of stone loading on railway rakes for Pankaj Mishra. He has further stated that he used to load around 2 to 3 railway rakes per month for Pankaj Mishra. Further, In order to maximize the purported profits for Pankaj Mishra, he also used to show the sale of stone material to Pankaj Mishra at a lower price/discounted rates in his book of accounts and later, for the accused Pankaj Mishra, he himself sold them at market value and received the payments in the bank account of Pankaj Mishra. II Further, the indulgence of the accused Bhagwan Bhagat in illegal mining activities is also corroborated by the joint inspection conducted from 25.07.2022 to. 29.07.2022 (RUD No 43) in the presence of officials from the various government departments. Thus, it is evident t....
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....wan Bhagat was identified at Mauja Borna. The lease was given for mining on a total area of 13.13 acres at block Patna. However, the inspection revealed that the total mining has been done on an area of 21 acres. The mining exceeded in adjacent plots no. 135P, 138P, 137P, 136, 1299, 120, 119, 118P, 89P, 111P and 110P of Mauja Borna. It revealed that from April, 2019 to June, 2022, total mining challan obtained by Bhagwan Bhagat was around 23908985 CET whereas the actual mining done by him was several times the quantity for which Chapman was obtained. Thus about 7.8 acres of excess mining by Bhagwan Bhagat was identified which was entirely illegal. 9.15 The bank accounts of Bhagwan Bhagat (Accused No.6) were scrutinized which revealed that a huge amount of cash had been deposited in his bank accounts. The gist of the cash deposited in several of his accounts is illustrated in the table below : Sl. No. Account No. Account Holder Name of the Bank Total Cash Deposited Period 1 34544312996 Bhagwan Bhagat SBI, Barharwa Branch 299300 11.06.2022 to 23.06.2022 2 34792305587 Bhagwan Stone Works SBI, Barharwa Branch 5975000 07.03.2019 to 07.10.2021 3 50541192273 Bhagwa....
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....cused individuals were scrutinized, revealing substantial cash deposits and interlinked transactions with Pankaj Mishra. 10.6 The investigation exposed that the accused parties engaged in unlawful mining operations in Sahebganj with the support of Pankaj Mishra. They supplied stone chips and aggregates to regions in Jharkhand, Bihar, and West Bengal. It was also revealed that Tinkal Kumar Bhagat and Bhagwan Bhagat actively aided Pankaj Mishra in carrying out illegal mining operations at his direction. 13. Role of Accused in offence of money laundering under Section 3 of PMLA, 2002 The role of Accused No. 1 to 4 are already part of the Prosecution Complaint dated 16.09.2022 and Supplementary Prosecution Complaint dated 19.06.2023 and the same is not repeated here. However, evidence and role of other accused in support or corroboration to earlier Prosecution Complaints shall be read in concurrence. II. Bhagwan Bhagat The Accused No. 6 namely Bhagwan Bhagat is knowingly Indulged in laundering the funds generated out of his illegal mining activities, which he has done on about 7.8 acres beyond the permissible limits on plot no. 135P, 138P, 137P, 136, 1299, 120, 119, 118P, 89P....
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.... a total area of 13.13 acres in block Patna, was found to have exceeded its limits, with the actual mining covering an area of 21 acres. The excess mining occurred in adjacent plots in 135P,138P, 137P,136, 129P, 120, 119, 118P, 89P,111P, and of Mauza Borna. Investigation revealed that between April 2019 and June 2022, Bhagwan Bhagat obtained mining challans totalling approximately 23908,985 cubic feet Tower (CFT). However, the actual mining performed by him far exceeded the quantity specified in the Challans. Thus about 7.8 acres of excess mining by Bhagwan Bhagat i.e. present petitioner was identified which was illegal. 39. It has come during investigation that the joint inspection dated 29.07.2022 of mines operated by M/s Bhagwan Stone Works, at Mauja Borna revealed that the mining was being done on two plots bearing no.87, 89p, 90, 118p, 121 to 125 (area 7.25 acres), and (ii), 91, 107, 108, 10%, 112 to 117 area 5.98 acres. The lease was given for mining on total area of 13.13 acres at block Patna. However, the co-ordinates of the actual mining area taken during the inspection revealed that the total mining has been done on an area of 21 acres and an area of about 8 acres, minin....
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....However, during the searches, cash amounting to Rs 28,50,000/- was seized from the residential premises of the present petitioner. 42. Thus in nut shell, it is evident from supplementary prosecution complaint that the petitioner was directly involved in illegal mining. The mining lease, originally granted for a total area of 13.13 acres in block Patna, was found to have exceeded its limits. He has also knowingly assisted Pankaj Mishra in laundering proceeds of crime amounting to Rs. 4.87 crores in his HDFC bank account no. 50200062737102 during the period 29.10.2021 to 19.05.2022 by way of projecting purported trading of stone chips. 43. Thus, from aforesaid imputation and discussion prima-facie it appears that the involvement of present petitioner in alleged crime cannot be lightly brushed out. 44. Now coming to the contentions as raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner wherein he has taken the ground that the petitioner is not accused in the predicate offence, hence cannot made liable for money laundering offence. But the contention of the learned counsel appears to be misplaced because the offence of money Laundering is independent of the scheduled offence, particula....
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....substance. 48. Further, the burden of proof is on the Petitioner until the contrary is proved, the same is observed in various judicial pronouncements and upheld in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (2022) SCC Online 929. In Rohit Tandon vs. Directorate of Enforcement, (2018) 11 SCC 46, the Supreme Court observed that the provisions of section 24 of the PMLA provide that unless the contrary is proved, the authority or the Court shall presume that proceeds of crime are involved in money laundering and the burden to prove that the proceeds of crime are not involved, lies on the appellant. 49. So far as the ground taken on behalf of the petitioner that no predicate offence is said to be committed is concerned, while considering the argument advanced on behalf of the opposite party-ED this Court is of thew that the FIRs were directed to be registered by the NGT, has also been brought under the purview of the enquiry by the ED wherefrom when the material was collected of illegal mining, hence, a case under Section 411 and 414 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) were instituted. These offences are well within the fold of the scheduled offence, hence, by taking into consideration the aforesaid material t....
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....se of proceeds of crime, in that case, he can be held guilty of committing an offence under Section 3 of the PMLA. Therefore, it is not necessary that a person against whom the offence under Section 3 of the PMLA is alleged must have been shown as the accused in the scheduled offence. 53. The contention of learned counsel for the petitioner that there was delay of 2 years on the part of the ED in registering ECIR after lodging of the FIR, is a self-serving argument. If the ED registers an Information Report immediately upon the registration of a FIR for a predicate offence, ED will be accused of acting in haste. If they wait until the story unfolds up to a particular stage, ED will be attacked as guilty of delay. Therefore, all the arguments on facts and all the legal contentions emanating from some portions of the judgment in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (supra), to challenge the validity of the proceedings initiated by ED are completely unsustainable. 54. So far as the facts of the present case are concerned, the respondent ED has placed heavy reliance on the statements of witnesses recorded and the documents produced by them under Section 50 of the said Act, to prima facie show th....
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....s not only involved rather his involvement is direct in procuring the proceeds of crime by way of connivance with the other accused persons. 59. Further it is pertinent to mention here that It is not necessary that a person against whom the offence under Section 3 of the PMLA is alleged must have been shown as the accused in the scheduled offence. Reference in this regard may be taken from the Judgment as rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Pavna Dibbur Vs. Directorate of Enforcement 2023 LiveLaw (SC)1021. 60. At the cost of repetition it is pertinent to mention here that the offence of money laundering under Section 3 of the Act is an independent offence regarding the process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime which had been derived or obtained as a result of criminal activity relating to or in relation to a scheduled offence. The offence of money laundering is not dependent or linked to the date on which the scheduled offence or predicate offence has been committed. The relevant date is the date on which the person indulges in the process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime. Thus, the involvement of the person in any of the criminal activities like ....
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....ge-sheet establishes that after due investigation the investigating agency, having found materials, has placed the charge-sheet for trial of the accused persons." 67. Thus, this Court, after taking note of the settled legal proposition, is of view that the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is not tenable in the eye of law. 68. Now in the light of aforesaid discussion at this juncture this Court thinks fit to revisit the scope of section 45 of the PML Act 2002. As discussed in preceding paragraphs that Section 45 of the PMLA Act, 2002 provides twin test. First 'reason to believe' is to be there for the purpose of reaching to the conclusion that there is no prima facie case and second condition is that the accused is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. 69. Sub-section (1)(ii) of Section 45 of the Act, 2002, provides that if the Public Prosecutor opposes the application, the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail, meaning thereby, the parameter which is to be followed by the concerned court that satisfaction is required to be....
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.... there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty of such offence and he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. It is needless to say that as per the statutory presumption permitted under Section 24 of the Act, the Court or the Authority is entitled to presume unless the contrary is proved, that in any proceedings relating to proceeds of crime under the Act, in the case of a person charged with the offence of money laundering under Section 3, such proceeds of crime are involved in money laundering. Such conditions enumerated in Section 45 of PML Act will have to be complied with even in respect of an application for bail made under Section 439 Cr. P.C. in view of the overriding effect given to the PML Act over the other law for the time being in force, under Section 71 of the PML Act." 74. Further, it is pertinent to mention here that the process envisaged under Section 50 of PMLA is in the nature of an inquiry against the proceeds of crime and it is not an investigation and the authorities who are recording the statements are not police officers and therefore, these statements can be relied upon as admissible piece of evidence before the Court....
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....e of considering the view which has been taken by learned court while rejecting the prayer for bail, this Court is also in agreement with the said view based upon the material surfaced in course of investigation, as referred hereinabove. On the issue of Parity 78. Now coming to the ground of parity as raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner, the law is well settled that the principle of parity is to be applied if the case of the fact is exactly to be similar then only the principle of parity in the matter of passing order is to be passed but if there is difference in between the facts then the principle of parity is not to be applied. 79. It is further settled connotation of law that Court cannot exercise its powers in a capricious manner and has to consider the totality of circumstances before granting bail and by only simple saying that another accused has been granted bail is not sufficient to determine whether a case for the grant of bail on the basis of parity has been established. Reference in this regard may be taken from the judgment as rendered by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Ramesh Bhavan Rathod vs. Vishanbhai Hirabhai Makwana, (2021) 6 SCC 230, wherein, it has b....
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.... were armed with sticks had been granted bail. The High Court has evidently misunderstood the central aspect of what is meant by parity. Parity while granting bail must focus upon the role of the accused. Merely observing that another accused who was granted bail was armed with a similar weapon is not sufficient to determine whether a case for the grant of bail on the basis of parity has been established. In deciding the aspect of parity, the role attached to the accused, their position in relation to the incident and to the victims is of utmost importance. The High Court has proceeded on the basis of parity on a simplistic assessment as noted above, which again cannot pass muster under the law." 80. The Hon'ble Apex Court in Tarun Kumar Vs. Assistant Director Directorate of Enforcement (supra) wherein at paragraph-18, it has been held that parity is not the law and while applying the principle of parity, the Court is required to focus upon the role attached to the accused whose application is under consideration. 81. It has further been held in the paragraph 19 of the said judgment that the principle of parity is to be applied in the matter of bail but equally it has been laid d....
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....ned100 Scen area was around 4,11,64,200 CFT. Considering even a maximum over bunden debris of 40%, the net stone excavation to around 2,46,98,520 CFT. Further, the accused Krishna Kumar Saha has acquired proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs. 2,17,00,000 in the bank accounts of his relatives out of which, he has transferred s. 2,07,00,000/- to his bank account. Further, the accused Krishna Kumar Saha is in possession of proceeds of crime amounting to Rs. 17,58,18,751/- which is projected to be untainted by way of concealing the said amount in the financial system through banking channels. Moreover, Krishna Kumar Saha has also assisted the accused Pankaj Mishra by way of providing him with monetary benefits. Hence, the Accused No. 5 i.e. Krishna Kumar Saha directly indulged in illegal activities of stone mining and knowingly assisted Pankaj Mishra by way of providing him with monetary benefits. Further, the accused Krishna Kumar Saha actually involved in all the activities connected with the offence of money laundering including concealing, acquiring, using, projecting and claiming the tainted property as untainted property by way of layering the proceeds of crime in different bank ....
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.... petitioner, is identical to the persons with whom parity is being claimed. 89. This Court, on the basis of the discussion of the involvement of the petitioner, vis-à-vis, the other co-accused persons, is of the view that the case of the petitioner is quite distinguishable to that of the case of Krishna Kumar Saha as complicity of the petitioner is of being a close associate of Pankaj Mishra. 90. Otherwise also, it needs to refer herein by taking aid of the judgment rendered in the case of Tarun Kumar vs. Assistant Director Directorate of Enforcement, (supra) that if the benefit of bail has been granted by a Court that appears to be contrary to the material collected in course of investigation then applying the principle that Article 14 does not envisages negative equality, this Court, therefore, is of the view taking into consideration the allegation against Krishna Kumar Saha that does it is not a fit case, merely because Krishna Kumar Saha has been granted bail the petitioner may also be released from judicial custody, as such, the said benefit is not fit to be accepted. 91. Further, it is required to refer herein that the Money Laundering is an economic offence and ec....
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....es which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interests of the public/State and other similar considerations. It has also to be kept in mind that for the purpose of granting bail, the legislature has used the words "reasonable grounds for believing" instead of "the evidence" which means the court dealing with the grant of bail can only satisfy itself as to whether there is a genuine case against the accused and that the prosecution will be able to produce prima facie evidence in support of the charge. It is not expected, at this stage, to have the evidence establishing the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. 25. Economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail. The economic offence having deep-rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds needs to be viewed seriously and considered as a grave offence affecting the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious threat to the financial health of the country." 92. This Court is conscious of ....