New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday questioned the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) arrest policy, given that it has so far arrested only 513 persons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) out of 1,142 prosecution complaints filed in various courts. “The data raises a number of questions, including the question whether the DoE has formulated a policy, when they should arrest a person involved in offences committed under the PMLA,” a bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Dutta observed in its judgement on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest in the liquor scam case. The 64-page judgement culled out data from ED’s official website and noted that as on 31 January 2023 5,906 ECIRs – akin to First Information Report (FIRs) under the now erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) – were recorded.
However, search was conducted in 531 ECIRs by issuing 4,954 search warrants. The total number of ECIRs recorded against former parliamentarians, legislators and counsellors, the court recorded, was 176. The bench remarked when it comes to grant of bail, ED’s opinion is given primacy under section 45 of PMLA.
Hence, it said, the agency should act “uniformly, consistent in conduct, confirming one rule of for all.” Section 45 of PMLA relates to grant of bail in PMLA cases. The section underlines a stringent twin-test condition that reverses the burden on the accused to prove he/she is not guilty.
If the accused is found prima faci.
