New Delhi, Feb 12 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to an accused in a money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), questioning the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for continuing his custody despite quashing of the cognisance order.
The accused, Arun Kumar Tripathi, an Indian Telecommunications Service officer, was arrested in connection with the alleged Chhattisgarh liquor scam and had been in custody since August 2024.
A supplementary prosecution complaint was filed against him on October five, 2024, and cognisance was taken the same day. However, the High Court quashed the special court’s order on February seven, 2025, citing the lack of required sanction, relying on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Directorate of Enforcement versus Bibhu Prasad Acharya (November 2024).
A bench, led by Justice Abhay S Oka, sharply criticized the ED for suppressing information about the quashing of the cognisance order.
“The concept of PMLA cannot be to ensure someone remains in jail,” Justice Oka remarked, likening the
situation to Section 498A of Indian Penal Code cases, where the intent sometimes appears to be imprisonment rather than justice.
The bench also questioned why ED failed to inform the Court about the quashing, with the accused’s counsel, Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora, being the one to bring it to light.
Expressing concern over the agency’s lack of transparency, Justice Oka suggested summoning the responsible officers.
The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) argued that the quashing of cognisance did not render the arrest illegal, as the required sanction had now been obtained. He contended that the issue was procedural, not substantive.
However, the bench disagreed, stating that no valid prosecution complaint currently existed in law due to the quashing of the cognisance order.
"As of today, no complaint is filed, and the application for fresh cognisance has been made," Justice Oka observed, adding that the Special Court would now have to examine the validity of the sanction.
While acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations, the Court ruled that continued custody was unjustified.
It directed that the accused be produced before the Special Court within a week, where he would be granted bail with strict conditions, including the surrender of his passport and a commitment to attend all court proceedings.
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