Arrest Valid if “Grounds” and "Reasons to Believe” are Communicated to Arrested Person u/s 19 PMLA: Calcutta HC [Read Order]

The Calcutta High Court recently upheld the validity of an arrest made under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), observing that such an arrest could not be rendered procedurally errored when the arresting officer has duly communicated the “grounds of arrest” and the “reasons to believe” to the accused at the time of arrest.

The procedure was reaffirmed by the Court while hearing a plea filed by Yogesh Dua who challenged the legality of his arrest and remand by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged money laundering and financial fraud matter involving ₹47 lakh. The jurisdictional police station at Calcutta had registered an FIR under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Although the petitioner herein was not named in the FIR, he was subsequently produced before the Chief Judge, City Sessions Court, Kolkata, and arrested on ED’s prayer.

Aggrieved by the arrest, the petitioner approached the High Court with representation from Vikram Chaudhury, Kaustav Lal Mukherjee, Abhijit Singh and Koustav Bhattacharya. The primary contention raised by the petitioner was that the arrest and remand were illegal and violative of Section 19(1) and 19(2) of the PMLA.

He alleged that both the “grounds of arrest” and “reasons to believe” furnished by the ED were a mere sham and pretence, lacking the spirit, substance and sanctity.

Dua further submitted that the ED had based its arrest on material that was incomplete and largely borrowed from the predicate offence investigation, and that alleged “non-cooperation” during summons could not justify arrest under Section 19 of the PMLA. The petitioner also claimed that it was not clear as to when the ED had forwarded the requisite documents to the Adjudicating Authority as mandated under section 19(2).

Arijit Chakraborty, Debsoumya Basak and S.K. Singh appeared for the ED and vehemently opposed the petitioner’s submissions and further submitted that the writ court is to not take cognizance of PMLA proceedings which are meant to be dealt with by the appropriate forum.

Justice Suvra Ghosh examined whether the ED had complied with the procedural safeguards under Section 19, and noted that the petitioner had been furnished with both the “reasons to believe” and “grounds of arrest” at the time of arrest on April 4, 2025, and that the material in possession of the officer was duly forwarded to the Adjudicating Authority on April 7, 2025.

Noting that the ED had not transgressed any of the statutory mandates precluding an arrest and the process thereafter, the Calcutta High Court stood satisfied that there was no procedural irregularity in the arrest or remand.

The Court reiterated that as per Section 19 of the PMLA, the arresting officer is to record in writing the reasons for belief of guilt based on material in possession and to communicate the same to the person arrested. Once compliance with these dual conditions are met, it is sufficient enough to validate the arrest.

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