The Delhi High Court has reprimanded the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for issuing a non-bailable warrant against an accused residing abroad during the investigation.
During the hearing, a single-judge bench of Justice Amit Sharma questioned how a non-bailable warrant could be issued while the investigation was still ongoing, as according to legal procedure, such a step can only be taken when the conditions stipulated by law are met.
Non-bailable warrants can be issued only against a person who is a convict, a proclaimed offender, or an accused involved in a non-bailable offence who is evading arrest.
The court also cancelled the non-bailable warrant issued against businessman Sachin Dev Duggal, who resides in the UK, in a money laundering case. The court clarified that there are mandatory conditions for issuing a non-bailable warrant under Section 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and no leniency or concession can be granted in fulfilling these conditions.
The case pertains to a summons issued by the ED under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED had summoned Duggal during the investigation, alleging that he failed to comply with the summons.
In February 2023, the probe agency filed an application before a special PMLA court in Mumbai, seeking a non-bailable warrant against Duggal. After the application was rejected there, the ED filed a similar application in a special court in Delhi, which then issued the non-bailable warrant.
The High Court has now questioned this entire process and cancelled the warrant. The court stated that a non-bailable warrant under Section 73 of the CrPC can only be issued in three situations: when a convict is absconding, or is a proclaimed offender, or is accused of a non-bailable offense and is evading arrest.
The court found that none of these situations or conditions applied in Duggal’s case.
– Ends
Published By:
Prateek Chakraborty
Published On:
Dec 26, 2025
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