Delhi HC : NBWs cannot be granted for just failing to respond to an ED summons

 Delhi HC: The Delhi High Court has decided that a person cannot be subject to non-bailable warrants (NBWs) only for not responding to an Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons.

According to Justice Amit Sharma, NBWs may only be issued against a convicted criminal, a proclaimed offender, or an accused person who is avoiding arrest for a non-bailable offense.

The fact that non-bailable warrants, or NBWs, may be issued against someone who is avoiding an investigation and may not be officially listed as an accused in the prosecution’s case is undeniable.

However, for the purposes of Section 73 of the CrPC, such individuals must be portrayed as having committed a crime for which there is no bail and avoiding arrest,” the court said in a judgment dated December 19.

In a money laundering case involving the Videocon company and a bank fraud investigation, NBWs were put aside against UK-based businessman Sachin Dev Duggal.

The court noted that in issuing the warrants, the trial court had improperly used its authority under the CrPC.