Mahesh Joshi Vs Directorate of Enforcement (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and granted regular bail to the appellant in connection with ECIR No. JPZO/29/2023 dated 21.08.2023 registered by the Directorate of Enforcement under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The appellant, a former Minister of the Public Health and Engineering Department, Government of Rajasthan, was arrested on 24.04.2025. His bail applications had been rejected by the Trial Court and subsequently by the High Court on 26.08.2025. The proceedings arose from allegations relating to forged IRCON certificates used in PHED tenders during 2022–2023, resulting in multiple FIRs, departmental inquiries, suspension of officials and blacklisting of firms. The appellant was not named in the original FIRs or the initial ECIR and was added as an accused only through a supplementary complaint. The Court clarified that it was not examining the merits of the allegations.
The appellant contended that four co-accused had already been granted bail, entitling him to parity. It was further submitted that the amount directly attributed to him did not exceed ₹50 lakh, attracting the proviso to Section 45(1) of the PMLA, and that the High Court had not explained why the proviso was inapplicable. The appellant also relied on the fact that, during his tenure as Minister, he had himself initiated departmental action by suspending officials, blacklisting firms and causing registration of FIRs relating to forged certificates. It was submitted that he was 71 years old, had cooperated throughout the investigation, had complied with interim bail conditions on two occasions, and that the prosecution case was entirely documentary. The matter remained at the stage of supply of copies under Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, with the trial unlikely to commence in the near future.
