S.45 PMLA | Delhi High Court Grants Interim Bail To Money Laundering Accused On Ground Of Illness Of Family Member

The Delhi High Court recently granted interim bail to an accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 to attend to his critically ill mother and to make necessary arrangements for her continued medical treatment.Though the Enforcement Directorate submitted that the ground of illness of a family member of the accused is not available under Section 45 of PMLA, Justice Tejas Karia granted the relief on humanitarian grounds.The bench has released him for 15 days, with strict conditions.“The Applicant shall not leave the NCT of Delhi. The Applicant is directed to give all his mobile numbers to the Investigating Officer and keep it operational at all times. The Applicant shall report at the Police Station, Crime Branch, Delhi everyday,” it ordered.The Applicant is in judicial custody and had earlier approached the Sessions Court seeking 30 days interim bail. The Sessions Court instead granted custody parole for a duration of six hours solely for the limited purpose of accompanying the mother to a hospital/diagnostic centre. The Applicant did not avail the custody parole and instead moved the High Court, stating that he is the sole male family member available to attend to his mother.It is the Applicant's case that his mother, aged approximately 55 years, met with an accident leading to fracture in the lumbar spine region and partial collapse of the vertebrae. It is claimed that due to his non-availability, no substantive progress has been made in his mother's treatment and her health continues to deteriorate.ED counsel also verified that the Applicant's mother is residing alone with a maid however, he added that the mother had visited the hospital as an OPD patient only once and she had never visited the hospital for any follow up visit or treatment. This shows that her medical condition is stable and there is no medical exigency/emergency which would require physical presence of the Applicant, it was contended.“In this facts and circumstances and on humanitarian ground, the Applicant is granted an interim bail for a period of fifteen (15) days from the date of his release, subject to Applicant furnishing a personal bond of ₹1,00,000/-, with two sureties in the like amount,” the Court ordered.Appearance: Mr. Amit Chadha, Senior Advocate alongwith Mr. Rahul Vats, Ms. Neha Kumari, Mr. Rohit Singh, Mr. Saarthak Sethi & Mr. Harjas Singh, Advocates for Applicant; Mr. Arkaj Kumar, Standing Counsel with Mr. Aakarsh Mishra, Mr. Ishank Jha & Ms. Vaishnavi Bhargava, Advocates for State.Case title: Lovee Narula v. EDCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 686Case no.: BAIL APPLN. 1937/2025Click here to read order

S.45 PMLA | Delhi High Court Grants Interim Bail To Money Laundering Accused On Ground Of Illness Of Family Member

Kapil Dhyani

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