Lucknow, Aug 27 (PTI) Holding that there is a greater likelihood of a person accused of socio-economic offences fleeing the country if granted bail or anticipatory bail, the Allahabad High Court has refused to grant pre-arrest bail to the 'sleeping' director of a company, who is facing charges under the anti-money laundering law in connection with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam.

The order was passed by the Lucknow bench of the court on Thursday.

Also Read | Quantum Computing the Future, Traditional Computing Based on Semiconductors Drawing to a Close, Says MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Passing the order, Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said, "In socio-economic offences, proceeds of crimes are larger and offenders are economically sound. Therefore, in releasing them on bail or anticipatory bail, the probability of their absconding not within the country, but beyond the country is more probable."

"Usually, socio-economic offenders abscond to some other country and after that, it becomes difficult to bring them back in order to complete the criminal proceedings against them," he added.

Also Read | India Records Highest-Ever Single Day COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage with Over 93 Lakh Doses Administered in Past 24 Hours.

Pankaj Grover, the 'sleeping' director of Surgicoin Medequip Private Limited, had moved the court seeking anticipatory bail in the case lodged against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

His lawyer, I B Singh, argued that no prima facie case was made out against his client under the PMLA and hence, he be granted pre-arrest bail during the probe.

Opposing the plea, Assistant Solicitor General S P Pandey and Special Counsel S P Shukla submitted that the applicant was accused of an economic offence and there is sufficient material against him that suggested his involvement in the offence and thus, his custodial interrogation was needed.

Rejecting the applicant's plea, the judge also observed, "The status and position of such offenders provide them with opportunities to influence investigation and prosecution."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)