SC declares stringent provision of PMLA unconstitutional

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 23

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down as unconstitutional a stringent provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act that virtually overturned the legal Maxim "bail is rule and jail exception'.

A Bench led by Justice Rohinton F Nariman struck down Section 45 in the PMLA to the extent it said “jail is rule and bail an exception”.

The conditions for bail under this provision were unreasonable as they virtually made it impossible for an accused to get bail, the Bench said.

The government had defended the provision contending it was an effective tool to deal with black money menace.

The order came on petitions challenging the validity of the Section 45 that it made bail an exception. The petitioners said the provision went against established legal principles and the law on bail laid down by the Supreme Court.

Agreeing with petitioners arguments, the Bench held that the Section 45, in so far as it laid down the two unreasonable conditions, was bad in law. 

It also set aside orders denying bail that relied on the conditions prescribed in the Section 45 of PMLA.

The Bench directed trial courts to hear all such bail matters de-novo and decided at the earliest without considering the conditions under the Section 45 that have been declared unconstitutional.