ED faces SC ire on delay in bail for accused
Keeping an accused in custody without trial is akin to detention which hampers liberty, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while deprecating the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) practice of filing supplementary chargesheets in money laundering cases to defeat the accused’s right of getting default bail.
A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta took exception to the ED filing four supplementary chargesheets, the latest on March 1, 2024, in a money laundering case arising from alleged illegal mining in Jharkhand.
The top court was hearing the default bail plea of Prem Prakash, an alleged associate of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Mr. Prakash was arrested in August, 2022 after raids during which two AK47 rifles, live rounds and two magazines were claimed to have been found at his home. He was booked for the offences of money laundering and under the Arms Act.
The Bench told Additional Solicitor General S.V.
Raju, appearing for the ED, about the investigation in the case still continuing despite four supplementary chargesheets having been filed.
‘Have to settle issue’
“We are putting you (ED) on notice. (Under the law) You cannot arrest a person without the investigation in the case being complete. A person cannot be put in custody without the commencement of trial. It is akin to detention and affects the liberty of an individual. In some cases, we have to settle this issue,” the Bench told Mr. Raju.
Justice Khanna said an accused cannot be denied the benefit of default bail by filing supplementary chargesheets.