Supreme Court grants anticipatory bail to an Odisha Officer in disproportionate assets case, says ED cannot arrest an accused after the top Court takes cognizance

Yesterday (July 29, 2024), the Supreme Court (SC) bench constituting Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih granted anticipatory bail to Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) Officer Bijay Ketan Sahoo. He is accused of money laundering in connection with a disproportionate assets case. This year on June 24, the SC granted Sahoo interim protection from arrest relying on its judgment in Tarsem Lal vs. Directorate of Enforcement, which held that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) cannot arrest an accused under Section 19 of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) after the top Court has taken cognizance of the complaint. The SC bench yesterday made the June 24 order absolute. The order reads, “The case is covered by decision of this court in Tarsem Lal v. Directorate of Enforcement. Hence interim order dated 24 June 2024 is made absolute.” 

Bijay Ketan Sahoo sought anticipatory bail in a money laundering case concerning disproportionate assets worth Rs. 5 Crores. An FIR was lodged against him, his wife (Nalini Prusty), a State Financial Official, and several other family members for possessing assets disproportionate to their income. As a result, the ED initiated the investigation under the PMLA, and summons were issued to Sahoo for appearance by the Special Court in Bhubaneswar. Earlier this year, the top Court granted him interim protection after noting that Sahoo had been cooperating in the investigation for 3 years without arrest. The top Court was told that the anticipatory bail petition was filed only after a summon notice was issued by the PMLA court. While hearing the matter yesterday, the SC granted him anticipatory bail stating that the ED cannot arrest after the top court takes cognizance.