Supreme Court: Illegal Arrest by ED Violates Fundamental Rights, Accused Entitled to Bail
- Case Name: Directorate Of Enforcement V Subhash Sharma
- Judge(s): Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan
The Supreme Court ruled that the arrest of the accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was illegal and unconstitutional, as he was not presented before a magistrate within 24 hours of custody, violating Article 22(2) and Article 21 of the Constitution.
The accused was detained on March 5, 2022, at 11 AM but was shown arrested on March 6, 2022, at 1:15 AM to justify compliance.
The Court held that bail cannot be denied when an arrest is vitiated due to constitutional violations, overriding the twin conditions under Section 45(1)(ii) of PMLA. The appeal was dismissed.
Chetna GuptaBookmark
