The Delhi High Court granted interim bail to Lava Managing Director in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 ( PMLA ) and commented that delicate balance between life and death in cardiac emergencies underscores importance for prioritization.
The applicant has preferred an application under Section 45 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, read with Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ( Cr.P.C ) seeking grant of bail. By way of present application, filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C., the applicant has sought interim bail on medical grounds.
In the present case, the applicant Hari Om Rai was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement on 09.10.2023 and was remanded to judicial custody on 18.10.2023. The case set out by the applicant in the present application is that his medical condition is of such nature that he ought to be released on interim bail on medical grounds. However, the same has been opposed on behalf of the respondent on the ground that the applicant’s medical condition cannot be termed as very serious or life threatening, so as to grant him medical interim bail in a case registered for commission of offence under PMLA.
The Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the applicant argues that the applicant herein was arrested in the present case on 09.10.2023, and he is seeking release on interim bail, on medical grounds and that a bare perusal of the medical reports of the applicant make it apparent that the applicant has a chronic history of high triglycerides, cholesterol and related issues concerning his heart. It was stated that even prior to his arrest in October, 2023, he was consulting his doctors for treatments/procedures to mitigate his susceptibility to a stroke, heart attack and acute inflammation of the pancreas.
It was further submitted that the medical condition of the applicant has deteriorated severely while in judicial custody, and his health must be given primacy, and it is his fundamental right to be given adequate and effective treatment by the doctors of his choosing, in whom he reposes trust and confidence and that the applicant is entitled to the benefit of the proviso to Section 45 of PMLA, being a sick person.
The ASG appearing on behalf of the Directorate of Enforcement argued that the learned Trial Court has rightly held that the twin conditions under Section 45 of PMLA are applicable even while considering an interim bail application and that the applicant herein does not fall within the proviso to Section 45(1) of PMLA. It was argued that the medical condition of the applicant is not of such nature which warrants grant of interim bail on medical grounds.
A Single Bench of Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma observed that “The delicate balance between life and death in cardiac emergencies underscores the importance for prioritization and specialized care required in such cases, for mitigating the profound risks posed by these medical conditions. Each passing moment in the face of cardiac distress is fraught with the peril of irreversible harm, and in case of any eventuality that may occur in applicant not getting proper and specialised treatment, this Court will have to bear the weight of regret.”
Therefore, the Court granted interim bail to the present accused/applicant for a period of three (03) months and imposed certain terms and conditions.
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