New Delhi, April 28 -- The Patiala House Court has held that interim bail in offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cannot be granted as a matter of routine and must be supported by compelling, immediate, and exceptional circumstances.

Emphasising the strict statutory framework, the court observed that the rigours of Section 45 of the PMLA cannot be diluted by resorting to interim relief in the absence of demonstrably urgent grounds.

The court made these observations while dismissing an interim bail application filed by IPAC Director and co-founder Vinesh Kumar Chandel, who is accused in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court noted that while humanitarian considerations ...