Masasasong Ao vs. Directorate of Enforcement and Anr.
Background
The applicant sought regular bail in a money-laundering case linked to alleged extortion/illegal-taxation funds collected for the banned outfit NSCN(IM), which were routed through numerous bank accounts of a close relative, Alemla Jamir, and associated entities (about Rs. 173 crore in total). The applicant, arrested in October 2022, was accused of actively handling and moving funds through his own accounts, especially after Alemla Jamir's arrest, though he maintained the accounts were substantially controlled by her and he acted mostly on her instructions.
Decision Breakdown
The Court found the ED's material did raise a prima facie case under Section 45 PMLA's first condition, but concluded the applicant was unlikely to reoffend given his clean record otherwise, government employment, and that the evidence was largely documentary and already secured. Crucially, he had been in custody for nearly four years against a maximum sentence of seven years, had crossed the statutory half-way mark under Section 436A Cr.P.C./BNSS, the trial (27 witnesses, only 5 examined) was progressing very slowly through no fault of his, and the co-accused Alemla Jamir had already been released on bail. The Court held that prolonged pre-trial detention cannot become punitive and granted bail with conditions (passport surrender, cooperation with investigation, no witness contact).
Lesson Learnt
Even under PMLA's stringent twin bail conditions, an undertrial who has served a substantial portion of the maximum sentence, with a slow-moving trial not attributable to him, can secure bail on Article 21 grounds against indefinite pre-trial detention.