SC: Bail is rule, jail an exception in PMLA cases

New Delhi: Liberty of an individual is always a rule and deprivation an exception even in cases registered under the anti-money laundering law which has stringent provisions for bail, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.

Citing the enduring legal principle that "bail is the rule and jail is the exception", a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan granted bail to Prem Prakash, an aide of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, in a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam.

"Liberty of the individual is always a rule and deprivation is the exception. Deprivation can only be by the procedure established by law, which has to be a valid and reasonable procedure," the bench said.

The top court said confessional statements given in custody by an accused in a different case attracting the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) will not be admissible in the court of law. Prakash, while in custody, had purportedly confessed to his involvement in another land scam case.

"We have no hesitation in holding that when an accused is in custody under PMLA, irrespective of the case for which h e is under custody, any statement under Section 50 PMLA to the same investigating agency is inadmissible against the maker. (PTI)