‘However stringent PMLA is… sick and infirm can be granted bail’: Supreme Court

Sadhuram Mulchandani, former chairperson of Seva Vikas Co-operative Bank, was arrested by ED on the charge of money laundering on July 1, 2023.

The court made the observation while granting interim bail to an accused in a money laundering case. (File photo)

GRANTING INTERIM bail to an accused in a money laundering case, the Supreme Court on Monday said that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) permits bail for those who are sick and infirm.

“However stringent PMLA is, as judges we have to operate in the four corners of the law. Law tells us that someone who is sick and infirm be granted bail. That he could be treated at a government hospital is no answer to what the statute says. Sick or infirm means you can be granted bail,” Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said, while presiding over a three-judge bench.

The bench, which included Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was hearing the bail plea filed by Amar Sadhuram Mulchandani, 67, former chairperson of Seva Vikas Cooperative Bank who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the charge of money laundering on July 1, 2023, based on the predicate offence.

“Proviso to Section 45 (1) of PMLA specifically contemplates that a person who ‘is sick or infirm’ may be released on bail if the special court so directs. Based on the medical evaluation, which has been provided by the medical team at the Grant Medical College and Sir J J Group of Hospitals, Mumbai, it is evident that the petitioner fulfils the threshold required for being enlarged on bail,” the bench said in its order.

On August 9 this year, the Bombay High Court had dismissed Mulchandani’s second application for bail on medical grounds. He then approached the Supreme Court which issued notice on September 2. On October 4, the Supreme Court directed that a fresh medical evaluation be conducted by the team at Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Mumbai. The evaluation was done by a team of four experts and a report was submitted to the court.

Appearing for Mulchandani, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi said the petitioner was suffering from chronic kidney disease and could not perform daily activities while being incarcerated.

Ananthakrishnan G

Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More

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