The conditions for bail in the Act do not rewrite the basic principle of the Constitution which guarantees personal liberty, the bench said.
Bail is the rule and jail is the exception even in cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Supreme Court held on Wednesday, reported Live Law.
A division bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan passed the judgement while allowing bail to Prem Prakash, an aide of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, in a money laundering case, reported Bar and Bench.
It said that while Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act lays down the conditions on which bail should be granted, it does not alter the fundamental principle that bail is the rule.