MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently refused bail to a suspect, who was arrested and remanded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Justice V Sivagnanam said the petitioner, V Villayutham of Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram district, was arrested in March 2023 for alleged money laundering.
He was arrested by the jetty police station of Ramanathapuram district under the Wild Protection Act for allegedly smuggling sea cucumber weighing 2,800 kg and worth `2 crore in 2021. The counsel of Villayutham demanded his bail on the grounds of health issues. However, the counsel of ED in Madurai objected that the court had already denied bail in June 2023 and that he does not have any life-threatening diseases to warrant bail.
The court also observed that no straight jacket formula can be laid down as to what is the level of sickness that a person has to suffer to get bail under Section 45(1) proviso. "The thumb rule is that the sickness should be so serious that it is life-threatening and the treatment is so specialized that it cannot be provided in the jail hospital. Given the above medical condition, it is noticed that the petitioner is not in serious condition based on the report of the health department," said the court. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the nature of the allegations made against him, the gravity of the offence and the role attributed to him, the court refused to grant bail.