The recent ruling by the Supreme Court reinforces that the provisions of Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure extend to individuals accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) as well.

As per Section 436A CrPC, a person who has spent one half of the maximum period of the prescribed sentence as an undertrial shall be released on bail. In this case, the accused would complete 31⁄2 years of incarceration on 26th May, 2024, meaning he would complete half of the prescribed sentence.

In the 2022 ruling in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India, the Supreme Court clarified that Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) can indeed be invoked in cases falling under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"It is to be noted that the Section 436A of the 1973 Code was inserted after the enactment of the 2002 Act. Thus, it would not be appropriate to deny the relief of Section 436A of the 1973 Code which is a wholesome provision beneficial to a person accused under the 2002 Act," the judgment in Vijay Madanlal held.

Following the precedent set in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India case, the bench, led by Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, decided to grant bail to the undertrial prisoner in the present case in accordance with Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

"This Court has held that Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short "CRPC") will apply even to a case under the PMLA. But the Court can still deny the relief owing to the ground such as where the trial was delayed at the instance of the accused, " the bench observed.

In this instance, since the charges have not yet been framed, it cannot be argued that the accused has caused any delay in the trial process, which hasn't even commenced.

The Court stated that the bail formalities will be completed before the trial court.

Case : Ajay Ajit Peter Kerkar v. Directorate of Enforcement and another