While the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) remains a key legal tool to fight financial crimes, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has drawn attention to a significant concern — the extremely low conviction rate under this law. Speaking on Sunday, the judge stated that despite thousands of cases being filed under the Act, very few have led to convictions. This imbalance has prompted the Supreme Court to focus on granting bail more readily in such cases.
“The PMLA is a weapon to combat money laundering... So why are we speaking so much about bail? Data submitted by the Union government reveals a sharp rise in PMLA cases being filed... By 2024, ED lodged more than 5k cases while only 40 convictions which is abysmally low,” said Justice Bhuyan.
Between 2014 and 2024, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered over 5,300 cases under the PMLA. However, only 40 of these resulted in convictions. Justice Bhuyan pointed out this stark gap while emphasizing that the maximum punishment under the Act is seven years, and yet, there are considerable delays in starting trials.
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These delays are often caused by a large number of witnesses and bulky exhibits, which complicate and prolong the proceedings.
“When the conviction rate is low, a person cannot be kept in jail forever or for too long... Thus the Supreme Court has nowadays reinforced that ‘Bail is the Rule and Jail is the Exception’ even in PMLA cases,” he stated.
Justice Bhuyan also addressed the growing public misconception that equates the granting of bail with acquittal. He clarified that courts operate with fairness and in proportion, without any intent of vengeance.
“We (as judges) don’t act with a sense of vengeance but we act with proportionality… We exercise our jurisdiction in a measured way. Therefore, the focus should be on proper investigation and till the conviction rate improves, people will remain sceptical about arrests, registration of ECIR under PMLA,” he emphasized.
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Justice Bhuyan was speaking at a book launch event in Mumbai’s Cuffe Parade area. The book, Treatise on PMLA, Law & Practice, was authored by Advocate Akhilesh Dubey. The occasion was graced by several dignitaries including Chief Justice Alok Aradhe of the Bombay High Court, Justice Revati Mohite-Dere, Justice Mahesh Sonak, and Advocate General Dr. Birendra Saraf.
During the same event, Justice Revati Mohite-Dere also addressed concerns related to how some ED officials have conducted interrogations. She cited a case where the accused was summoned at 10:30 in the morning but was only interrogated at night, leading to an arrest being shown early the next morning.
“The case before us was an individual accused in a PMLA case. He was called to ED office at 10:30 in the morning but was interrogated only in the night and it went on till 3:30 am and he was shown to be arrested at 5:30 am. We dismissed the petition against arrest but deprecated this conduct of the ED officials,” Justice Mohite-Dere shared.
Following such incidents, the central agency has reportedly issued new guidelines. These now instruct ED officers to carry out interrogations strictly during official working hours, aiming to prevent any further misuse of power or procedural irregularities.
