Udhaw Singh Vs Enforcement Directorate (Supreme Court of India)
Supreme Court of India has granted bail to Udhaw Singh, who was accused under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). Singh had been in custody for one year and two months, but with only one out of 225 witnesses examined, the court determined that the trial was unlikely to conclude in the near future. The court applied its ruling in V. Senthil Balaji v. Deputy Director, Directorate of Enforcement (2024 SCC OnLine SC 2626), which emphasized that prolonged detention without trial violates the fundamental right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The court reiterated that while PMLA offenses carry a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of seven years, prolonged incarceration without a foreseeable trial completion timeline is unjustified. The decision cited precedents, including Union of India v. K.A. Najeeb (2021) 3 SCC 713, which allows constitutional courts to grant bail when trial delays infringe upon fundamental rights. The court also referenced CIT v. Infinity Infotech Parks Ltd. and CIT v. Jet Airways, reinforcing the principle that statutory provisions should not be misused to extend detention indefinitely.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not contest the applicability of V. Senthil Balaji, and the Solicitor General acknowledged that bail was appropriate under these circumstances. The court distinguished the present case from Union of India v. Kanhaiya Prasad (2025 SCC OnLine SC 306), where bail was denied because the accused had been in custody for only seven months, and there was no indication of undue trial delays. The court emphasized that in Udhaw Singh’s case, continued incarceration would amount to an infringement of Article 21 rights, necessitating intervention.
