In Brief
Dr. Manik Bhattacharya, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on money-laundering allegations, sought to declare the arrest illegal on the ground that he was under Supreme Court interim protection restraining coercive action in related Special Leave Petitions concerning alleged recruitment irregularities. The Court dismissed his applications, holding that a protective order in proceedings not involving money-laundering allegations cannot prevent a separate agency empowered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act from investigating independent money-laundering offences. The legality of the arrest must be tested independently before the appropriate forum, not within these proceedings.
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