No Arrest shall be made once Complaint has been filed before Special Court. No Requirement to Apply for Bail

Hon’ble Supreme Court in Tarsem Lal v. Directorate of Enforcement Jalandhar Zonal Office – 2024 SCC Online SC 971

wherein, it has been held that if the accused person is not arrested prior to filing of the complaint, he has to only file a bond under Section 88, Cr.P.C., and, therefore, there is no need for arrest.

23. Now, we summarise our conclusions as under:

a) Once a complaint under Section 44 (1)(b) of the PMLA is filed, it will be governed by Sections 200 to 205 of the CrPC as none of the said provisions are inconsistent with any of the provisions of the PMLA;

b) If the accused was not arrested by the ED till filing of the complaint, while taking cognizance on a complaint under Section 44(1)(b), as a normal rule, the Court should issue a summons to the accused and not a warrant. Even in a case where the accused is on bail, a summons must be issued;

c) After a summons is issued under Section 204 of the CrPC on taking cognizance of the offence punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA on a complaint, if the accused appears before the Special Court pursuant to the summons, he shall not be treated as if he is in custody. Therefore, it is not necessary for him to apply for bail. However, the Special Court can direct the accused to furnish bond in terms of Section 88 of the CrPC;

d) In a case where the accused appears pursuant to a summons before the Special Court, on a sufficient cause being shown, the Special Court can grant exemption from personal appearance to the accused by exercising power under Section 205 of the CrPC;

e) If the accused does not appear after a summons is served or does not appear on a subsequent date, the Special Court will be well within its powers to issue a warrant in terms of Section 70 of the CrPC. Initially, the Special Court should issue a bailable warrant. If it is not possible to effect service of the bailable warrant, then the recourse can be taken to issue a non-bailable warrant;

f) A bond furnished according to Section 88 is only an undertaking by an accused who is not in custody to appear before the Court on the date fixed. Thus, an order accepting bonds under Section 88 from the accused does not amount to a grant of bail;

g) In a case where the accused has furnished bonds under Section 88 of the CrPC, if he fails to appear on subsequent dates, the Special Court has the powers under Section 89 read with Sections 70 of the CrPC to issue a warrant directing that the accused shall be arrested and produced before the Special Court; If such a warrant is issued, it will always be open for the accused to apply for cancellation of the warrant by giving an undertaking to the Special Court to appear before the said Court on all the dates fixed by it. While cancelling the warrant, the Court can always take an undertaking from the accused to appear before the Court on every date unless appearance is specifically exempted. When the ED has not taken the custody of the accused during the investigation, usually, the Special Court will exercise the power of cancellation of the warrant without insisting on taking the accused in custody provided an undertaking is furnished by the accused to appear regularly before the Court. When the Special Court deals with an application for cancellation of a warrant, the Special Court is not dealing with an application for bail. Hence, Section 45(1) will have no application to such an application;

h) When an accused appears pursuant to a summons, the Special Court is empowered to take bonds under Section 88 of the CrPC in a given case. However, it is not mandatory in every case to direct furnishing of bonds. However, if a warrant of arrest has been issued on account of nonappearance or proceedings under Section 82 and/or Section 83 of the CrPC have been issued against an accused, he cannot be let off by taking a bond under Section 88 of the CrPC, and the accused will have to apply for cancellation of the warrant;

i) After cognizance is taken of the offence punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA based on a complaint under Section 44 (1)(b), the ED and its officers are powerless to exercise power under Section 19 to arrest a person shown as an accused in the complaint; and

j) If the ED wants custody of the accused who appears after service of summons for conducting further investigation in the same offence, the ED will have to seek custody of the accused by applying to the Special Court. After hearing the accused, the Special Court must pass an order on the application by recording brief reasons. While hearing such an application, the Court may permit custody only if it is satisfied that custodial interrogation at that stage is required, even though the accused was never arrested under Section 19. However, when the ED wants to conduct a further investigation concerning the same offence, it may arrest a person not shown as an accused in the complaint already filed under Section 44(1)(b), provided the requirements of Section 19 are fulfilled.

24. We are making it clear that we are dealing with a fact situation where the accused shown in the complaint under Section 44(1)(b) of the PMLA was not arrested by the ED by the exercise of power under Section 19 of the PMLA till the complaint was filed.

25. Hence, the appeals succeed, and we pass the following order:

a) We set aside the impugned orders declining to grant anticipatory bail;

b) We direct that warrants issued by the Special Courts against the appellants shall stand cancelled subject to the following conditions:

i. The appellants shall appear before the concerned Special Court within one month from today and shall file an undertaking before the Special Court that they shall regularly and punctually appear before the Special Court on the dates fixed unless their appearance is specifically exempted by the exercise of powers under Section 205 of the CrPC; and

ii. The appellants shall furnish bonds in accordance with Section 88 of the CrPC to the satisfaction of the Special Court within one month from today.

c) It is necessary to clarify that the warrants issued against the appellants shall be cancelled only if they make compliance as aforesaid within one month from today. To enable them to do so, the warrants shall not be executed against them for a period of one month from today;

d) On the failure of the appellants to appear before the Special Court and to file undertakings and bonds within one month from today, it will be open for the Special Courts to issue warrants against the appellants; and

e) After the warrants issued against the appellants are cancelled, the apprehension that they may be arrested will not survive. Hence, in view of what we have held in this judgment, it is unnecessary to consider the prayer for the grant of anticipatory bail.

26. The appeals are allowed on the above terms.