Bail -- PMLA -- Twin Conditions Cannot Override Article 21 Against Prolonged Incarceration
(i) Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, S.45 -- Bail -- PMLA -- Twin Conditions Cannot Override Article 21 Against Prolonged Incarceration -- Statutory twin conditions for bail cannot override the constitutional safeguard against prolonged incarceration -- Process of investigation and trial must not be turned into punishment in itself -- Continued custody for an indefinite period without expeditious investigation and trial defeats this safeguard. (ii) Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, S.19(2) -- Arrest -- Delay in Forwarding Material to Adjudicating Authority -- Word “immediately” does not mean within twenty-four hours or any fixed time limit, but requires that material be transferred expeditiously and simultaneously with the arrest -- Delay necessitated by the volume of records does not render the arrest illegal, so long as transmission is without avoidable delay. (iii) Constitution of India, 1950, Art.21 -- Bail -- Prolonged Pre-Trial Detention Due to Voluminous Trial -- Where the magnitude of the trial, in terms of number of accused, witnesses and documents, renders prompt conclusion impossible, and the accused has already undergone a substantial period in custody relative to the maximum prescribed sentence, with investigation against him complete, bail is to be granted notwithstanding the stringent conditions under special legislation.
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