PMLA Bail Granted: Prolonged Pre-Trial Custody Overrides Section 45 Rigours — Parity with Co-Accused Clinches Release

Background and Overview

The Delhi High Court recently delivered a significant ruling in Deepak Ramnani Vs State of Delhi, addressing three interconnected bail applications arising from overlapping criminal proceedings — one filed under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 ("MCOCA") read with the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ("IPC"), and another filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 ("PMLA"). The decision carries wide-ranging implications for accused persons facing prolonged pre-trial detention under special statutes that impose heightened conditions for the grant of bail.

At the heart of the matter was a fundamental constitutional question: when an undertrial has spent a substantial portion of the maximum prescribed sentence in custody, and when the trial shows no reasonable prospect of early conclusion, can the rigours of Section 45 of the PMLA or Section 21(4) of MCOCA continue to justify continued detention? The Court's answer, at least in respect of the PMLA proceedings, was an unequivocal no.

The Parties and Proceedings

Two brothers — Deepak and Pradeep — were the primary petitioners. Their bail applications in the State case (BAIL APPLN. 4286/2024 and BAIL APPLN. 4441/2024) arose from FIR No. 208/2021, registered on 07.08.2021 at Police Station Special Cell, Delhi. The FIR was originally registered under Sections 170/384/385/388/419/420/506/120B of the IPC and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Subsequently, Sections 3 and 4 of MCOCA were invoked at the time of filing of the charge sheet.

Deepak separately filed BAIL APPLN. 4869/2025 seeking release in connection with ECIR/54/DLZO-II/2021 dated 08.08.2021, registered under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA by the Directorate of Enforcement ("ED"), consequent upon the registration of the aforesaid FIR.

Note: The Court had, by separate judgments dated 05.05.2026, already disposed of bail applications filed by co-accused Leena Paulose — rejecting her bail in the State proceedings while granting it in the PMLA proceedings.

The Prosecution's Case

The Extortion Scheme

FIR No. 208/2021 was lodged at the instance of one Ms. Aditi Singh. According to the complaint, on 15.06.2020, she received a call from a person who introduced himself as a senior Ministry of Law official and offered to help secure bail for her husband, who was in judicial custody in matters concerning M/s Religare Enterprises Ltd.

The caller allegedly demanded Rs. 50 crores as consideration for facilitating the bail. Over successive interactions between June 2020 and August 2021, the complainant was defrauded of a staggering Rs. 217 crores through a sophisticated impersonation scheme involving the names of senior government functionaries, including the Home Secretary, Government of India.

On 07.08.2021, the police set a trap and intercepted Pradeep while he was accepting extorted funds. He was arrested the same day. During interrogation, he identified his brother Deepak as the mastermind behind his activities; Deepak was subsequently arrested on 08.08.2021.

Technical surveillance of the mobile device used for making the calls, along with co-accused statements, identified the primary accused as Sukesh Chandra Shekhar, who was already lodged in Tihar Jail as an undertrial in a separate case and was later shifted to Rohini Jail. A raid conducted on the intervening night of 07/08.08.2021 recovered two mobile phones from Sukesh in custody, and his arrest in the present FIR was formalised.

Alleged Role of Deepak

The prosecution's case against Deepak was multi-layered:

  • He was a trusted associate of Sukesh, introduced to him through the Chandra Brothers of Unitech, who were also incarcerated in the same facility and were already known to Deepak.
  • He allegedly assisted in planning the activities of the Organised Crime Syndicate ("OCS") led by Sukesh and his wife Leena, including identifying the complainant as a potential victim.
  • He was responsible for collecting, counting, transporting, and delivering cash extorted by Sukesh to various destinations across Delhi, other States, and abroad.
  • He used token-based mechanisms for cash collection, copies of which were later produced before the Economic Offences Wing ("EOW") by the complainant.
  • He engaged co-accused Avtar Singh Kocchar @ Dolly (since deceased) as a hawala operator for transmitting extorted funds, including to Leena and her associates.
  • He is alleged to have participated in approximately 50 such fund transfers, fully aware that the funds were derived from organised crime.
  • To evade scrutiny during COVID-19 restrictions, he allegedly ensured his wife's presence in the vehicle during cash transport.
  • In his absence, he deputed his brother Pradeep to execute collections and deliveries.

Alleged Role of Pradeep

Pradeep's case was more circumscribed. The prosecution alleged that he physically collected extorted funds from the complainant and her sister, Arundhati Singh Khanna, on Deepak's instructions. He represented himself as "Rajesh" and referred to Deepak as "Rohit." He was arrested red-handed while receiving funds.

PMLA Proceedings Against Deepak

Upon registration of FIR No. 208/2021, the ED registered ECIR/54/DLZO-II/2021 since Sections 384/386/419/420/120B of the IPC are scheduled offences under the PMLA. The prosecution alleged that Deepak: