Delhi High Court: In Cases Where Accused is Woman or is Sick, PMLA Terms Can be Relaxed

Money Laundering Law Insider

Priyanka Singh

Published on: 30 September 2022 at 21:04 IST

While granting bail to an accused on medical grounds in the Rs. 3269 crore bank loan case, the Delhi High Court held that there can be relaxations granted in case of the accused being a woman or sick.

The bank loan fraud case was supposedly committed by the Delhi-based Shakti Bhog Food Ltd.

A bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh observed and remarked that the accused was in such a condition that it couldn’t be taken care of in the jail.

The Supreme Court recently upheld that the twin bail conditions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) can be granted only if there are credible, reasonable grounds that the accused is not guilty and is not likely to commit any offence during the term of bail.

The High Court referred to Section 45 and other provisions of the Act, which help out with the conditions of sickness and infirmity, stating, “Recommendations of the standing committee of the central government propose to relax the conditions prescribed for the grant of bail so that the court may grant bail to a person who is below 16 years of age, or woman, or sick or infirmary..”

The Court added that the terms “sick” and “informed” have not been defined under the said Act and that, it is for the Court to examine the medical condition of an accused to determine whether the accused is deserving of relaxation from the twin conditions.

The bail was granted to Devki Nandan Gang in the multi-crore bank loan scam while accepting the plea from Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra who submitted that his client’s medical condition is gravely serious due to his kidney being dysfunctional while also suffering from a serious heart disease and other ailments.

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