SC raps ED, says PMLA not meant to keep people in jail

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for continuing to keep Indian Telecommunication Service officer Arun Kumar Tripathi in custody, despite the Chhattisgarh High Court quashing the order taking cognisance of the complaint against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam.

A bench of Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan ordered Tripathi’s release on bail, emphasising that the “concept of PMLA cannot be to ensure that a person should remain in jail.” The court questioned the ED’s rationale, with Justice Oka asking Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, “If cognisance has been quashed, why should the accused be in jail?”

Tripathi was arrested on August 8, 2024. The Chhattisgarh High Court quashed the Special Court’s cognisance order on February 7, 2025, citing the lack of sanction required under Section 197(1) of the CrPC for prosecuting public servants.

The ED argued that the lack of sanction was a procedural lapse, not a declaration of innocence. However, the Supreme Court stressed that continued detention was unjustified, directing that the Special Court re-examine the validity of the sanction.