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Supreme Court puts ED ‘on notice’ for keeping accused in custody without trial
The apex court was hearing the default bail plea of former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren's alleged associate Prem Prakash, who was arrested in August 2022
The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Enforcement Directorate saying the central agency cannot keep on filing supplementary chargesheets and keep person in jail without trial.
The remarks by a top court bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta were made while taking exception to the agency filing four supplementary chargesheets in a money laundering case arising from alleged illegal mining in Jharkhand.
The apex court was hearing the default bail plea of former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren's alleged associate Prem Prakash, who was arrested in August 2022. Two AK-47 rifles, 60 live rounds and two magazines were claimed to have been found at Prakash's residence, and he was booked for offences of money laundering and Arms Act.
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"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," PTI quoted the bench as telling additional solicitor general SV Raju.
Observing that an accused cannot be denied the benefit of default bail, Justice Khanna said,"The whole object of default bail is that you do not arrest until investigation is complete. You cannot say that a trial will not commence unless the investigation in the case is complete. You cannot keep on filing supplementary chargesheets and keep the person in jail without trial."
‘Trial has to begin when an accused is arrested’: SC to ED
Noting that the petitoner has been in jail for 18 months and supplementary chargesheets were being filed by ED one after another, Justice Khanna added,"This is what is bothering us. Trial has to begin when you arrest an accused. You cannot deny the benefit of default bail for delayed commencement of trial. Default bail is a right of the accused and it cannot be denied by filing supplementary chargesheet."
The top court judge also invoked the arrest of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is in jail since 2023 following his arrest by the ED in Delhi excise policy case.
"We have held this in the Manish Sisodia case (Delhi excise policy scam case), if there is long incarceration and undue delay in commencement of trial, the court can grant bail. Section 45 does not bar grant of bail because this right flows from Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution," Justice Khanna said.
Raju, while appearing for ED, argued that the accused is an influential person and may influence the witnesses and tamper with evidence if released on bail.
The Supreme Court asked the additional solicitor general to respond to all the questions put forth by the bench in a month and posted April 29 as the next date for hearing.
Advocate Siddharth Agarwal, appearing for Prakash, said when the initial FIR was lodged, his client's name was not there and no transaction had been found between him and the co-accused. He said the statements of two crucial witnesses do not directly implicate him.
