In a judgment having significant implications, the Supreme Court on Wednesday reiterated that the principle of bail is the rule and jail is the exception applied even to money laundering cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) while granting bail to one Prem Prakash, an alleged aide of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a money laundering case. This comes a day after the Supreme Court granted relief to Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha, who was arrested in March in a money laundering case linked to Delhi's now-scrapped liquor policy. Earlier this month, AAP leader Manish Sisodia was also granted bail in the same case.
A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan held that liberty of individual is always the rule and deprivation of the same by procedure established by law, is the exception. The Bench made it clear that the stringent conditions for bail under PMLA will override this principle. “The appeal is allowed and impugned order dated 22.03.2024 of the High Court of Jharkhand at Ranchi is quashed and set aside,” the Bench said in its 44-page order.
“…the appellant has satisfied the twin conditions under Section 45. Inasmuch as from the material on record, this Court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the appellant is not guilty of the offence of money laundering as alleged under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA and the Court is further satisfied that the appellant is not likely to commit any offence if enlarged on bail,” it said.
The Bench referred to the August 9 verdict in the money laundering and corruption cases involving former Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia to say that liberty of the individual is always the rule and deprivation of it by procedure established by law is the exception.
The Bench said, "Relying on the judgment in Manish Sisodia case, we have said that even in PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), bail is a rule and jail the exception.”
The Bench referred to Section 45 of the PMLA that mentions twin conditions for bail — there should be prima facie satisfaction that the accused has not committed the offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. All that Section 45 specifies, the court said, is the conditions to be met for bail. "Liberty of the individual is always the rule and deprivation, by procedure established by law, the exception. Twin test does not take away this principle," it added. The bench clarified that any incriminating statement made by an accused in custody in a PMLA case before an investigating officer will not be admissible in court. "It will be extremely unfair to make such statements admissible as it will be against all canons of justice."
In a 13-page judgement on BRS leader K Kavitha, uploaded on the apex court website on Wednesday, a bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan reiterated the well-established principle that “bail is the rule and refusal is an exception”. Referring to various judgements, including in the case of Manish Sisodia, a former Delhi deputy chief minister and a co-accused, the verdict said, "The prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence should not be permitted to become punishment without trial.""We had further observed that the fundamental right of liberty provided under Article 21 of the Constitution is superior to the statutory restrictions (of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act)," the judgement said.
The 'bail is the rule, and jail is the exception' principle was first used in the 1977 landmark judgment of the 'State of Rajasthan vs Balchand alias Baliya' case. In 2019, the court granted bail to P Chidambaram in the INX Media case, despite the seriousness of economic offenses, affirming that the fundamental jurisprudence of bail remained unchanged. In November 2020, the Supreme Court extended interim bail to journalist Arnab Goswami, highlighting the critical nature of personal liberty and the principle of bail as the norm.
