Jul 23, 2024

SC Clarifies that ED Cannot Arrest Accused After Special Court has Taken Cognizance of Complaint under PMLA

The SC in the case of Tarsem Lal v. Enforcement Directorate[1], held that the Enforcement Directorate (‘ED’) cannot arrest an accused after a Special Court has taken cognizance of a complaint alleging money laundering. Once cognizance is taken, indicating that the investigation is complete and the case is ready for trial, the ED cannot arrest an accused, as the accused would be within the jurisdiction of the Special Court dealing with the complaint.

The SC further held that when an accused furnishes a bond for appearance before a Special Court, he agrees and undertakes to appear before the Special Court regularly and punctually and on his default, he agrees to pay the amount mentioned in the bond. Therefore, an order accepting bonds from the accused does not amount to a grant of bail and thus, would not involve application of the conditions laid down in Section 45(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (‘PMLA’) for grant of bail.

[1] Tarsem Lal v. Enforcement Directorate, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 971.

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