SC Curtails ED’s Power to Arrest Under Section 19 of PMLA

New Delhi: The Supreme Court in a landmark ruling on Thursday curtailed the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) power to arrest an accused – under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) – if the accused appears as summoned by a special court that has taken cognisance of the complaint, reported NDTV.

In such cases the agency must first seek that court’s approval, said the apex court.

“After cognisance is taken of the offence… the ED and its officers are powerless to exercise powers under Section 19 to arrest the person shown as accused in the complaint,” the Supreme Court said.

Section 19 of the PMLA allows ED officers to arrest an individual “on the basis of material in possession (and) reason to believe (to be recorded in writing) that the person is guilty…”

Crucially, the agency must inform the individual, “as soon as may be” of the grounds for the arrest.

“If the ED wants custody of (an) accused after the person (answers a special court’s) summons, it needs to apply to the special court,” a bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhayan said, adding, custody could only be granted if that court believes custodial interrogation is required.

An arrest warrant – under Section 70 of the Code of Criminal Procedure – can only be issued if the accused failed to answer the summons, and, in the first instance, this must be a bailable warrant.

Earlier, the court had noted that “mere non-cooperation of a witness, in response to summons issued under Section 50, will not be enough to render him/her liable to arrest under Section 19”.