The Bombay High Court has quashed the remand and granted bail to a man arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case, holding that the arrest under Section 19 of the PMLA was illegal for non-compliance with the statutory safeguards. The Court held that the power to arrest under Section 19 carries exacting conditions, and that a court can judicially review the legality of an arrest and the ‘reasons to believe’ on which it rests.
Jaswant Singh, an AAP leader, today withdrew his Supreme Court petition challenging his arrest and remand by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. The Bench granted him the option to apply for bail in the Punjab & Haryana High Court. Singh has been in custody for over six months related to the ED’s investigation into allegations of defrauding banks.
