The Supreme Court on Wednesday made a significant observation, stating that even in money laundering cases, bail is the rule and jail is the exception. The landmark observation came during a hearing where the apex court granted relief to Jharkhand Assistant Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a case related to illegal mining registered by the Enforcement Directorate.
The court has held that even in cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), “bail is a rule and jail is an exception,” a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan said.
The court said no person should be deprived of his or her liberty and that Section 45 of the PMLA, which lays down two conditions for bail of an accused in a money laundering case, does not rewrite the principle to mean that deprivation of liberty is the norm.
The apex court referred to the August 9 verdict in the money laundering and corruption cases involving former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to say that liberty of the individual is always the rule and deprivation of it through the procedure prescribed by law is the exception.
Prem Prakash, who the ED says is a close aide of Soren and has been accused of being involved in illegal mining in the state, was granted bail.
The top court set aside the Jharkhand High Court’s March 22 order denying him bail and directed the trial court to expedite the trial in the case.
(With PTI inputs)
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