Stressing that bail is the rule and jail exception, the Supreme Court today said any incriminating statement given by an accused to the investigating officer while in custody in a money laundering case will not be admissible as evidence.

The court made the strong observation while granting bail to Prem Prakash, allegedly an aide of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, in a money laundering case. This comes a day after the Supreme Court granted the relief to Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha, who was arrested in March in a money laundering case linked to Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor policy. Earlier this month, AAP leader Manish Sisodia was also granted bail in a money laundering case.

In today’s judgment, the bench of Justice BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan said, “Relying on the judgment in Manish Sisodia, we have said that even in PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), bail is a rule and jail the exception.”

The bench referred to Section 45 of the PMLA that mentions twin conditions for bail — there should be prima facie satisfaction that the accused has not committed the offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.

All that Section 45 specifies, the court said, is the conditions to be met for bail. “Liberty of the individual is always the rule and deprivation, by procedure established by law, the exception. Twin test does not take away this principle,” it added.

The bench clarified that any incriminating statement made by an accused in custody in a PMLA case before an investigating officer will not be admissible in court. “It will extremely unfair to make such statements admissible as it will be against all canons of justice.”

The prosecution, the court said, has to prima facie crystallise the issues and facts for consideration of bail under PMLA.

“The appellant is not prima facie guilty of the offences and unlikely to tamper with evidence, hence a fit case for bail. Observations only limited to bail and shall not influence the trial in accordance with law,” the bench said, granting the relief to Prem Prakash.

The top court’s latest order has come a day after the relief to BRS leader K Kavitha in which the court questioned central agencies if they were free to “pick and choose” an accused.

READ: ‘Just Because Woman Is Educated…’: Top Court’s Rap As K Kavitha Gets Bail

The bench of Justice BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan said it was “sorry to see this state of affairs”. “The prosecution has to be fair. You can’t pick and choose anyone. What is this fairness? A person who incriminates himself has been made a witness,” the bench said.

Earlier this month, while granting relief to Mr Sisodia, the court had cited ‘bail is the rule’ principle.

READ: “Travesty Of Justice”: Manish Sisodia Gets Bail, Supreme Court Slams Delay

“Trial court and High Court ought to have given due weightage to this. Courts have forgotten that bail ought not to be withheld as punishment,” the court had said, holding the accused’s right to liberty as “sacrosanct”.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Priyangu Pandey today alleged he was attacked by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. He claimed that the Trinamool workers opened fire at him and hurled bombs when he was traveling in a car in Bhatpara.

“Today I was going to our leader Arjun Singh’s residence…We moved some distance and the road was blocked by a jetting machine from the Bhatpara Municipality. The moment our car stopped, around 50-60 people targeted the vehicle. At least seven to eight bombs were thrown at my vehicle and then six to seven rounds of firing were done…This is a joint conspiracy of Trinamool and the police,” Mr Pandey told reporters. 

A video shared by the news agency ANI showed damage to his car.

#WATCH | West Bengal: BJP leader Priyangu Pandey claims people belonging to TMC attacked and fired on his car, earlier today, in Bhatpara of North 24 Parganas pic.twitter.com/hVKfsf9u7h

— ANI (@ANI) August 28, 2024

Mr Pandey’s driver also sustained injuries, the BJP claimed.

The alleged attack comes as BJP workers called a 12-hour “Bangla bandh” today, protesting the police action on those who took part in the march to the state secretariat ‘Nabbana’ over the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor in Kolkata.

The BJP called a 6 am to 6 pm general strike after police lathi-charged, and used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters attempting to reach ‘Nabanna’ on Tuesday.

The ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ call was given by an unregistered student body ‘Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj’ and a dissident state government employees’ platform ‘Sangrami Joutha Mancha’.

The protesters were demanding the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the rape-murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

The ruling Trinamool Congress alleged that this was a BJP-backed protest.

The rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor on August 9 has caused nationwide outrage, with junior doctors refusing to see non-emergency patients in many parts of the country. They are demanding justice for the victim and greater safety for women at hospitals.

South African Johann Rupert controls Richemont, one of the world’s largest luxury goods firms. 

​South African Johann Rupert controls Richemont, one of the world’s largest luxury goods firms.