Patna: In a significant development, the Patna High Court on Thursday, granted bail to IAS officer Sanjeev Hans in connection with Special Trial (PMLA) Case No. 10 of 2024. The court found that the continued detention of the petitioner was not warranted at this stage, citing serious jurisdictional and evidentiary shortcomings in the case presented by the Enforcement Directorate.
The bench, led by Justice Chandra Prakash Singh, observed that the stringent twin conditions for the denial of bail under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were not attracted in this instance. The court explicitly noted that, at this stage, Hans “does not appear guilty of the offences, as alleged against him.”
Foundation of the ECIR Questioned
A central point in the High Court’s ruling was the tenuous foundation of the PMLA case. The court took judicial notice of the fact that the original predicate FIR (Rupaspur P.S. Case No. 18/2023), which formed the basis for the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), had already been quashed by the High Court on August 6, 2024.
The subsequent addendum ECIR was registered based only on a later vigilance FIR, which remains under preliminary investigation.
The court further highlighted the lack of substantive evidence, stating that “no conclusive or independent material had been placed on record to establish any financial trail, or to show that the petitioner was in possession of, or had dealt with, any proceeds of crime.”
Uncorroborated Statements Insufficient
The ED’s investigation had primarily relied on statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA and certain WhatsApp chats. However, the court found that such uncorroborated materials alone could not justify continued judicial custody, particularly when the trial is at a nascent stage involving voluminous material. The court concluded that further incarceration would serve no useful purpose.
In its detailed order, the High Court also reiterated a principle laid down by the Supreme Court in cases like V. Senthil Balaji and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy v. Central Bureau of Investigation, which holds that even in cases of grave economic offense, bail should not be denied as an automatic rule.
Hans was directed to be enlarged on bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 20,000 with two sureties of the like amount. Key conditions for the bail include:
- Mandatory physical presence before the Trial Court on every date.
- The petitioner shall not leave the country and must surrender his passport to the Trial Court.
Dr. Farrukh Khan, counsel for Hans, issued a press statement following the order, asserting that the ruling “reaffirms faith in the judiciary and upholds the principle that liberty cannot be curtailed without a solid legal foundation.” The statement noted that the defense remains confident that the lack of evidence will be exposed as the trial progresses.
