Special Judge MG Deshpande said that a court cannot join hands with ED to humiliate accused persons by continuing their judicial custody, and giving in to the whimsical demand of ED for automatic extension of judicial custody of accused persons will amount to violation of liberty of accused under Article 21.
“This Court strongly feels that it cannot join hands with vengeful complainant like ED to humiliate accused persons by continuing their judicial custody that too, in utter disregard to the recent law of the land,” the order said.
The Court noted that in situations where there is allegation of illegal detention, but there is evidence against the accused to substantiate the offence, courts generally keep their hands off.
“Exactly taking advantage of this, the ED eccentrically and whimsically cannot say that their has to be an automatic extension of judicial custody, as per practice and procedure of this Court, particularly in the teeth of the recent decision and guidelines of the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Vijay Choudhary,” the Court ruled.
The ruling came while discharging two PMLA accused in a money laundering case after it was pointed out that the investigation into the predicate offence against them had been closed.
Source: Barandbench
