Punjab and Haryana High Court rejects ED pleas to cancel bail of eight PMLA accused

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on 28 October 2026 dismissed eight petitions by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking to cancel the bail granted to eight accused in money-laundering cases. The accused had been arrested between 24 July and 21 August 2023 and granted bail by the Special Court at Panchkula because they were not given the grounds of their arrest in writing. The High Court kept all eight bail orders.

What Happened

The ED had arrested the accused in cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), with prosecution complaints filed in September and October 2023, according to the judgment. The Special Court granted bail relying on a Supreme Court ruling of 3 October 2023, which held that an arrested person must be given a copy of the written grounds of arrest.

The ED argued that the Supreme Court had said this rule applied "henceforth", meaning only from 3 October 2023. Since all eight arrests were made before that date, with grounds told orally, it said bail should not have been granted on this basis.

The court called the ED's argument misconceived. It held that Section 19 of the PMLA always required the arresting officer to inform the accused of the grounds of arrest, and that the Supreme Court only fixed how this must be done: in writing. The court also noted that the ED did not allege any misuse of bail by the accused. Accepting the ED's plea, it said, would mean reopening bail in every case where it had already been granted.

What It Means

The ruling confirms that anyone arrested under the PMLA has a right to be told why, a right the court said comes from the law itself and not from a later court ruling. Bail granted for failure to supply grounds of arrest will not be cancelled only because the arrest came before October 2023, absent misuse of bail.

The cases against the accused continue. These are allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, and due process continues.

Source: High Court judgment