SC: Oral explanation at arrest enough for ED, written reasons within 24 hours

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition seeking a review of its December 2023 judgement on the Enforcement Directorate informing accused persons of arrest grounds. The original judgement held that while the ED must provide arrest grounds in writing, it does not need to be done at the time of arrest, but within 24 hours.

The bench, comprising Justices Bela Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, stated: “In our opinion, no case for review is made out. Consequently, the Review petition is dismissed.”

This revised rule differs from the earlier precedent set in the Pankaj Bansal case, which mandated written notification at the moment of arrest. Additionally, the bench made observations that somewhat diluted the dictum in Pankaj Bansal. It asserted that the accused are not required to be informed of the grounds of arrest in writing at the time of arrest; rather, such information must be provided within 24 hours. However, the bench emphasised that the accused must be orally informed about the grounds at the time of arrest.

The court clarified that the phrase “as soon as may be” in Section 19 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act translates to “as early as possible without avoidable delay” or “within reasonably convenient” or “reasonably requisite” period of time.