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PMLA Defence · Delhi NCR

PMLA Defence — Enforcement Directorate
Proceedings in Delhi NCR

Defence practice for the entire arc of a PMLA matter — from Section 50 summons through Section 19 arrest, Section 5 provisional attachment, Section 8 adjudication, and Section 45 bail at the Special Court, the Delhi High Court, and the Supreme Court. The team applies the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary and Pankaj Bansal frameworks to every engagement.

PMLA § 3 — OffencePMLA § 5 — AttachmentPMLA § 19 — ArrestPMLA § 24 — BurdenPMLA § 45 — BailPMLA § 50 — Examination
Venues:ED HQ Pravartan BhawanPatiala House Special CourtRouse AvenueDelhi High CourtAdjudicating AuthorityAppellate Tribunal SAFEMASupreme Court
PMLA · ECIR to Bail Roadmap

Nine procedural stages from ECIR registration through Section 45 bail. Defence intervention points map to each stage; engagement at an earlier stage materially expands the available strategy.

  1. ECIR Registration

    Day 0

    The ED records an Enforcement Case Information Report on the basis of a scheduled-offence FIR. The ECIR is internal — not supplied to the accused at this stage.

  2. Section 50 Examination

    48–72 hrs prep

    Witnesses and accused-in-substance are summoned for examination on oath. Statements admissible. Article 20(3) protection applies once the witness becomes accused.

  3. Section 17 Search and Seizure

    Variable

    Premises searched on reason to believe. Material seized becomes the evidentiary basis for attachment and prosecution.

  4. Section 5 Provisional Attachment

    180 days max

    Property believed to be proceeds of crime is provisionally attached for up to 180 days. The order must record reasons.

  5. Section 19 Arrest

    24-hr remand

    ED arrests on the officer’s reason to believe. Pankaj Bansal v. UoI (2024) mandates written grounds of arrest. Failure renders arrest illegal.

  6. Section 8 Adjudication

    180 days

    Adjudicating Authority issues notice under Section 8(1), hears the affected party, and within 180 days confirms or rejects the attachment under Section 8(2).

  7. Section 44 Prosecution Complaint

    Variable

    The ED files a complaint before the Special Court designated under Section 43. The complaint is the equivalent of a chargesheet and triggers cognisance.

  8. Trial under Section 24

    5–8 yrs

    Trial proceeds before the Special Court at Patiala House. Section 24 reverses the burden — once involvement with proceeds of crime is shown, the accused must show otherwise.

  9. Bail at HC + SC

    Strategic

    Section 45 PMLA at Special Court (rare). Section 483 BNSS at Delhi High Court (realistic forum). SLP at Supreme Court via Article 136. Cycle: 6–18 months.

A Prevention of Money Laundering Act matter is, structurally, two cases. The first is the predicate offence — typically a CBI FIR for bank fraud or corruption, an EOW FIR for cheating and criminal breach of trust, or an SFIO investigation under the Companies Act. The second is the PMLA case itself, where the Enforcement Directorate investigates whether the proceeds of that predicate offence were laundered. The two run in parallel, before different forums, on different timelines, often with overlapping facts but distinct evidentiary standards. Defence strategy that treats them as a single case fails. Strategy that treats them as separate cases without coordination also fails. The work is in managing both at once.

The Enforcement Directorate's procedural toolkit under the PMLA is unusually broad. Section 50 examination has the binding force of judicial process. Section 19 permits arrest on the officer's "reason to believe". Section 5 permits provisional attachment of property without prior notice for up to 180 days. Section 24 reverses the burden of proof at trial — once the prosecution shows that the accused is involved with property which is the proceeds of crime, it is for the accused to show otherwise. Section 45 makes bail subject to a twin test that is, in practice, a near-presumption against bail. Each of these provisions has been the subject of constitutional challenge; each was upheld, with significant interpretive guardrails, by the Supreme Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India.

What follows is the framework the firm applies to PMLA defence: the statutory provisions in their current operative form, the procedural roadmap from ECIR to trial, the recent Supreme Court guardrails, and the practical strategy at each stage.

The Operative Statutory Provisions

The Procedural Roadmap

A PMLA matter ordinarily proceeds along a fixed sequence. Defence intervention points map to each stage. Understanding the sequence — and which stage a particular matter has reached — is the first step in any engagement.

  1. ECIR registration. The ED records an Enforcement Case Information Report on the basis of a scheduled offence FIR or its own intelligence. The ECIR is internal and not ordinarily supplied to the accused at this stage.
  2. Section 50 summons. Witnesses, accused-in-substance, and document custodians are summoned for examination. Statements are recorded on oath. Defence preparation focuses on Article 20(3) limits, written tendered statements, and consistency with parallel predicate-offence statements.
  3. Section 17 search and seizure / Section 18 personal search. The ED conducts searches at premises and personal searches based on reason to believe. Material seized becomes the evidentiary basis for attachment and prosecution.
  4. Section 5 provisional attachment. Property believed to be proceeds of crime is provisionally attached for up to 180 days. The order must record reasons. Affected parties are entitled to challenge before the Adjudicating Authority.
  5. Section 19 arrest. The ED arrests on the officer's reason to believe. Pankaj Bansal mandates written grounds of arrest. Failure to provide written grounds renders the arrest illegal — a frequent ground in habeas corpus and Section 482 BNSS petitions.
  6. Section 8 adjudication of attachment. The Adjudicating Authority issues notice under Section 8(1), hears the affected party, and within 180 days of provisional attachment confirms or rejects under Section 8(2).
  7. Section 44 prosecution complaint. The ED files a complaint before the Special Court designated under Section 43. The complaint is the equivalent of a chargesheet and triggers cognisance by the Special Court.
  8. Trial under Section 44 read with Section 24 (burden of proof). Trial proceeds before the Special Court. Section 24 reverses the burden — once the prosecution shows involvement with proceeds of crime, the accused must show otherwise.
  9. Bail at Special Court · High Court · Supreme Court. Section 45 PMLA read with Section 480 / 483 BNSS. Realistic bail strategy targets the Delhi High Court or the Supreme Court, given the Special Court's tendency to apply Section 45 conservatively.

The Supreme Court Framework

Three Supreme Court decisions define the operative framework for PMLA defence in 2026. Bail submissions, attachment challenges, and quashing petitions consistently begin with one or more of these.

Constitutionality + Bail · Three-Judge Bench

Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India

(2022) 11 SCR 382 · 2022 SCC OnLine SC 929 · Khanwilkar, Maheshwari and Ravikumar JJ.
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Sections 3, 5, 8(4), 17, 18, 19, 24, 44 and 45 of the PMLA. Key findings: (i) ED authorities are not police officers — Section 25 IEA does not bar Section 50 statements; (ii) ECIR is an internal document and need not be supplied at the time of arrest; (iii) the Section 24 reverse burden is a reasonable statutory presumption; (iv) the Section 45 twin test for bail is constitutional; (v) PMLA proceeds of crime survive only so long as the predicate offence subsists. Practical effect: sets the constitutional floor — challenges must operate within these guardrails. The case has been the subject of a review petition and is partially before larger benches, but the operative law as of April 2026 is Vijay Madanlal.
Written Grounds of Arrest · Two-Judge Bench

Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India

(2024) 7 SCC 576 · 2023 INSC 866 · A. S. Bopanna and P. V. Sanjay Kumar JJ.
The Supreme Court held that grounds of arrest under Section 19 PMLA must be furnished to the accused in writing as a matter of constitutional necessity under Article 22(1). Oral communication, or mere reading-out of grounds, is insufficient. Failure to provide written grounds renders the arrest illegal and entitles the accused to release. The principle has since been generalised to all arrests through Section 47 BNSS. Practical effect: the first question in every PMLA arrest review is whether a written grounds-of-arrest document was served at the time of arrest, and whether it is sufficiently detailed to satisfy Article 22(1).
Bail Framework · Two-Judge Bench

Satender Kumar Antil v. Central Bureau of Investigation

(2022) 10 SCC 51 · S. K. Kaul and M. M. Sundresh JJ.
The Supreme Court issued comprehensive guidelines on grant of bail, classifying offences into four categories — (A) ordinary offences punishable up to seven years; (B) economic offences not covered by special acts; (C) offences punishable with death or life imprisonment; and (D) offences under special acts including NDPS, PMLA, UAPA, and the Companies Act. Different bail considerations apply to each category. The Court reaffirmed the Balchand principle that bail is the rule and jail the exception, while acknowledging the special-act regime carved out by Section 45 PMLA. Practical effect: Category D applies to PMLA cases. While Section 45 governs the test, Antil's restatement of liberty principles is consistently cited in High Court and Supreme Court bail grants.
The arrested person should be informed of the grounds of arrest in writing as a matter of course and without exception … The mode of conveying information of the grounds of arrest must necessarily be meaningful so as to serve the intended purpose.— Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India (2024) 7 SCC 576, ¶ 38

Defence Strategy by Stage

The firm's PMLA practice operates on a stage-by-stage protocol. Engagement at an earlier stage materially expands the available strategy.

Pre-summons / pre-arrest. Where banking events suggest an ED proceeding is foreseeable — for example, after a CBI bank-fraud FIR or a wilful-defaulter declaration — the team prepares a documentary defence file and considers anticipatory protection. Anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS in PMLA matters is procedurally permissible, though courts tend to require strong showing before grant. Coordination with the predicate-offence team is essential.

Section 50 examination. Counsel ordinarily attends Section 50 proceedings. Preparation focuses on Article 20(3) limits where the witness is or may become accused, written tendered statements where the witness wishes to consolidate position, and consistency with statements given in the parallel predicate-offence proceeding. Records of every Section 50 examination are obtained and reviewed.

Section 19 arrest. The first 24 hours are critical. The grounds-of-arrest document is examined for Pankaj Bansal compliance — written, sufficiently detailed, served at the time of arrest. The arrest memo is examined for Section 19(1) and 19(2) compliance. Where defects appear, an immediate habeas corpus writ under Article 226 is filed; where the arrest is not plainly defective, bail submissions under Section 45 read with Section 480 BNSS commence at the Special Court while a parallel Section 483 BNSS application is prepared for the Delhi High Court.

Section 5 attachment. Provisional attachment is challenged on three tracks: representations to the Adjudicating Authority under Section 8, appeals to the Appellate Tribunal under SAFEMA Section 26, and writ remedies under Article 226 where the attachment is patently without jurisdiction. The 180-day limit on provisional attachment is jurisdictional — failure to confirm within the period invalidates the attachment.

Bail at the Delhi High Court. Section 483 BNSS applications are framed around three pillars: (i) Section 45 twin-test arguments, (ii) Pankaj Bansal compliance arguments where applicable, and (iii) liberty principles from Satender Kumar Antil and Arnab Goswami. The team works alongside Senior Counsel where the matter requires, and coordinates with the predicate-offence bail strategy so that bail in either proceeding strengthens the position in the other.

Special Leave Petition. SLP (Crl) is filed against High Court orders refusing bail or refusing to quash. The 30-day limitation under Article 134 of the Limitation Act runs from the date of the impugned order. The team prepares within this window, with condonation applications where the limitation has expired with sufficient cause.

Engagement

PMLA engagements are accepted on a confidential basis. The first conversation maps the matter — ECIR status, scheduled offences invoked, attachment position, custody status, parallel predicate proceedings, and immediate protective steps required. Engagement letters cover scope, fee structure, and the role of co-counsel where Senior Counsel involvement is anticipated.

Senior Partner Advocate Subodh Bajpai (LLM, MBA — XLRI Jamshedpur) leads the criminal practice with appearance support across the Delhi High Court, the PMLA Special Courts at Patiala House and Rouse Avenue, the Adjudicating Authority, the Appellate Tribunal, and the Supreme Court of India. For active arrests or imminent ED summons, contact +91 84008 60008 or legal@unifiedchambers.com — mark messages URGENT for arrest matters.

Frequently Asked

PMLA Questions and Answers

What is the difference between an ECIR and an FIR?

An ECIR — Enforcement Case Information Report — is the internal record the Enforcement Directorate prepares to commence an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002. An FIR is the First Information Report registered by the police under Section 173 BNSS. The Supreme Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India (2022) held that an ECIR is not equivalent to an FIR and that the ED is not bound to supply the ECIR to the accused at the time of arrest. The practical defence consequence is that the accused often does not see the basis of the ED case until the prosecution complaint is filed. Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India (2024) partly addressed this by mandating written grounds of arrest under Section 19, though the underlying ECIR remains an internal document.

What is the Section 45 PMLA twin test for bail?

Section 45(1) of the PMLA imposes a twin condition for bail: (i) the Public Prosecutor must be given an opportunity to oppose the application, and (ii) where the Prosecutor opposes, the court must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing the accused is not guilty of the offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. The Supreme Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary upheld the twin test as constitutionally valid. In practice, satisfying the negative finding of "not guilty" at the bail stage is exceptionally difficult — courts generally treat the test as effectively a presumption against bail. Defence strategy therefore typically targets the Delhi High Court under Section 483 BNSS, or the Supreme Court via SLP, rather than expecting trial-court bail.

What rights does the accused have during a Section 50 PMLA examination?

A summons under Section 50 PMLA is binding — non-attendance attracts penalties under Section 174 BNS. Statements under Section 50 are recorded on oath and are admissible in evidence per Section 50(4) PMLA. The Supreme Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary held that ED authorities are not police officers, so Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act / Section 23 BSA bar on confessions to police does not apply. However, the constitutional protection under Article 20(3) — that no person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself — does apply once the person is "accused" within the meaning of the article. Defence counsel ordinarily attend Section 50 examinations, advise on Article 20(3) where applicable, prepare written statements where the witness wishes, and ensure the recorded statement reflects what was actually said.

When can the ED arrest under Section 19 PMLA?

Section 19 PMLA empowers the Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Director or any other officer authorised by the Central Government to arrest a person if, on the basis of material in his possession, he has reason to believe that the person has been guilty of an offence punishable under the PMLA. The Supreme Court in Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India (2024) held that the grounds of arrest must be furnished to the accused in writing — oral communication is insufficient and renders the arrest illegal. The accused must be produced before the Special Court or the nearest Magistrate within 24 hours per Section 19(3). Failure to comply with the written-grounds-of-arrest requirement, and failure to record reasons for the "reason to believe", are the two most common grounds on which PMLA arrests are challenged via Section 482 BNSS, Article 226 writs of habeas corpus, or release applications.

How does Section 5 PMLA provisional attachment work?

Section 5 PMLA empowers the Director or any officer not below the rank of Deputy Director to provisionally attach property believed to be involved in money laundering, for a period not exceeding 180 days. The order must record reasons and be forwarded to the Adjudicating Authority. Within 30 days of the provisional attachment, the ED must file a complaint under Section 5(5) before the Adjudicating Authority. The Authority then issues notice under Section 8(1), gives the affected party an opportunity to be heard, and within 180 days of provisional attachment confirms or rejects the attachment under Section 8(2). Confirmed attachments survive until the conclusion of trial. Defence strategy operates on three tracks: opposing confirmation before the Adjudicating Authority, filing an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal under Section 26, and where the property has nothing to do with proceeds of crime, seeking discharge.

Can a PMLA case proceed without a predicate offence?

No. PMLA is a derivative offence. Section 3 PMLA defines money laundering as engaging directly or indirectly in any process or activity connected with proceeds of crime — and "proceeds of crime" means property derived from a "scheduled offence" listed in the schedule to the Act (typically PC Act, BNS 318, BNS 316, NDPS, FERA, etc.). If the predicate offence collapses — for example, the CBI FIR is quashed, the accused is acquitted in the PC Act trial, or the scheduled offence is not made out — the PMLA proceeding cannot survive in respect of those proceeds of crime. The Supreme Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary affirmed this dependency. Defence strategy in PMLA matters therefore always considers the parallel predicate-offence proceeding — quashing or weakening it has direct downstream effect on the PMLA case.

Where is a PMLA case tried in Delhi?

PMLA cases in Delhi are tried before the Special Court designated under Section 43 PMLA. In Delhi, the designated Special Court for PMLA matters sits at the Patiala House Court Complex (and, for some matters, at Rouse Avenue District Court). Bail at the Special Court level is exceptionally difficult given Section 45. Appeals from the Special Court order, and applications under Section 483 BNSS for High Court bail, lie before the Delhi High Court at Sher Shah Road. Special Leave Petitions against High Court orders go to the Supreme Court of India. The forum chain — Special Court → Delhi HC → Supreme Court — defines the bail strategy: in many PMLA matters, realistic bail is at the second or third level rather than the first.

How quickly can defence counsel respond to an ED summons or arrest?

For a Section 50 PMLA summons, counsel should ideally be engaged before attendance — review of the summons, preparation of the witness on Article 20(3) and likely lines of questioning, and drafting of any written statement to be tendered. Standard preparation window is 48 to 72 hours. For active arrests under Section 19, the response is in hours: counsel attends remand, examines the grounds-of-arrest document for Pankaj Bansal compliance, files for bail under Section 45 read with Section 480 BNSS, and where the arrest is plainly defective, prepares a habeas corpus writ under Article 226. For anticipatory protection — where a Section 50 summons has been received and arrest is anticipated — anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS is filed, typically within 12 to 24 hours. Contact +91 84008 60008 or legal@unifiedchambers.com; mark messages URGENT for active arrest matters.

Engagement

PMLA Defence — Speak to Counsel

For ED Section 50 summons, Section 19 arrests, Section 5 attachment notices, or High Court bail filings — confidential consultation with the criminal team.

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