Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 Section 45: Offences to be Cognizable and the Bail Twin Conditions (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · PMLA

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) is the reason bail is so hard in a money laundering case. It does two things. First, it makes every offence under the Act cognizable and non-bailable. Second, it lays down two conditions, called the twin conditions, that a court must apply before granting bail. Because of these conditions, a court has to form a view that the accused is probably not guilty just to release him on bail, which turns the usual approach to bail on its head. This explainer sets out the section, the twin conditions, the relaxations, and the long history of challenges to it. Last verified October 2026.

01The short point

In an ordinary case, bail is the rule and jail is the exception. Section 45 reverses that for money laundering. It makes PMLA offences non-bailable, and it adds the twin conditions, which require the court to be satisfied the accused is not guilty before it grants bail.

This is why PMLA bail is the hardest part of the case for most accused. The court is asked to take a provisional view on guilt at the bail stage, and the burden of persuading it falls heavily on the accused.

02What Section 45 says

Section 45 has two limbs:

• Cognizable and non-bailable: every offence under the PMLA is cognizable and non-bailable, so the ED can act without a prior warrant in the manner the Act allows, and bail is not a matter of right.
• The twin conditions: a person accused of a PMLA offence shall not be released on bail unless the two conditions below are satisfied.

03The twin conditions

Where the Public Prosecutor opposes bail, the court can grant it only if both of these are met:

• the Public Prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the bail application; and
• the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty of the offence, and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.

Both conditions must be met together. The second is the hard one, because it asks the court to form a view, at an early stage and on limited material, that the accused is probably not guilty. Courts have said this is not an absolute bar and bail can still be granted, but the threshold is high.

04Who gets a relaxation

The first proviso to Section 45 relaxes the twin conditions for some categories. The court may grant bail more readily to:

• a person who is under sixteen years of age;
• a woman;
• a person who is sick or infirm; and
• a person accused where the amount involved is small, which the proviso frames around money laundering of less than one crore rupees.

For these categories, the Special Court has a discretion to grant bail without the full rigour of the twin conditions. The relaxation is discretionary, not automatic.

05The history of challenges

Section 45 has had a turbulent history, which still matters because review is pending:

• Nikesh Tarachand Shah v. Union of India (2017): the Supreme Court struck down the twin conditions as they then stood, holding that the classification was arbitrary and violated Articles 14 and 21.
• The 2018 amendment (Act 13 of 2018): Parliament re-enacted the twin conditions, recasting the provision to cure the defect the court had identified.
• Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India (2022): the court upheld the re-enacted twin conditions, treating money laundering as a serious offence that justified the stricter test.
• Review pending: review petitions against the 2022 judgment are still pending, so this remains an evolving area.

06A practical note

Because of Section 45, bail strategy shapes the whole defence from day one:

• Prepare early and fully. The court looks at the material to judge whether there are reasonable grounds that the accused is not guilty.
• Check for a relaxation. Women, the young, the sick or infirm, and small-amount cases may get the benefit of the proviso.
• Follow the latest rulings. With review pending and frequent High Court and Supreme Court orders, the position moves.

For how bail fits with arrest and attachment in a live case, see how a PMLA case works in practice. This explainer is general information, not legal advice.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

PMLA bail turns on recent precedent: how courts have applied the twin conditions and the proviso on facts like yours. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments on Section 45 bail, with Supreme Court rulings from 1950 and High Court rulings from 1990, and results in under 5 seconds, so you can pull the latest bail orders quickly. You can also track a live bail matter, with its orders and hearings, by party or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, from the Special Court to the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Your case papers are never used to train the AI models behind Claw, so a bail brief can be researched in confidence. Create a free Claw account to find Section 45 rulings and track a pending matter, and use case search across Indian courts for the wider law.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the PMLA, 2002): indiacode.nic.in
• Enforcement Directorate (official): enforcementdirectorate.gov.in
• PRS Legislative Research (PMLA background and amendments): prsindia.org
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. PMLA bail law is fast moving, with review pending, so check the current provisions and the latest Supreme Court rulings, and take advice from counsel before you act.

09Frequently asked questions