SC Grants Bail to Sanjay Sureka in Concast Steel PMLA Case

The Supreme Court has granted bail to Sanjay Sureka, former promoter of Concast Steel, in a long-pending money laundering case after nearly two years of judicial custody. The Court held that a five-day delay between ED's custodial remand and filing of the chargesheet under Section 19(2) of PMLA did not render the arrest illegal, given the complexity of forensic accounting involved.

Judicial Scrutiny of Custodial Delays

While acknowledging that delays in producing a case property report can undermine due process, the bench distinguished between procedural deviations and jurisdictional flaws. It noted that Section 19(2) mandates filing 'forthwith,' but courts must consider the quantum and nature of seized digital evidence. The ED demonstrated that decryption and analysis of over 8,000 electronic files justified the timeline.

The requirement of producing a report 'forthwith' must be interpreted contextually, especially where voluminous digital evidence requires specialized processing, so long as there is no mala fide or deliberate delay.

Bail Principles in Economic Offences

The Court reiterated that prolonged pre-trial detention without conviction undermines Article 21 rights. Citing Vikram Chandra v. ED, it emphasized that PMLA’s stringent bail clause (Section 45) was partially invalidated in Nikesh Shah and cannot be circumvented through extended custody. The decision signals growing judicial impatience with indefinite detentions absent compelling flight or tampering risks.