Power to arrest
Section 19 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 deals with power to arrest. If the Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Director or any other officer authorised in this behalf by the Central Government by general or special order, has on the basis of material in his possession, reason to believe (the reason for such belief to be recorded in writing) that any person has been The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2005.
(1) If the Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Director or any other officer authorised in this behalf by the Central Government by general or special order, has on the basis of material in his possession, reason to believe (the reason for such belief to be recorded in writing) that any person has been guilty of an offence punishable under this Act, he may arrest such person and shall, as soon as may be, inform him of the grounds for such arrest.
(2) The Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Director or any other officer shall, immediately after arrest of such person under sub-section (1), forward a copy of the order along with the material in his possession, referred to in that sub-section, to the Adjudicating Authority in a sealed envelope, in the manner, as may be prescribed and such Adjudicating Authority shall keep such order and material for such period, as may be prescribed.
(3) Every person arrested under sub-section (1) shall, within twenty-four hours, be taken to a 1[Special Court or] Judicial Magistrate or a Metropolitan Magistrate, as the case may be, having jurisdiction:
Provided that the period of twenty-four hours shall exclude the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the 1[Special Court or] Magistrate's Court.
Section 19, The Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (Act 15 of 2003).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
PMLA s.19 arrest is valid only if the authorised officer has material constituting 'reason to believe' that the person is guilty of money-laundering, and those grounds of arrest must be furnished to the arrestee in writing as soon as possible. Oral communication or later disclosure in the remand application is not enough. Article 22 informs the written-grounds requirement. Use Judgement order-5.pdf, not same-date order-6.pdf ROP.
On this section: s.19 arrest requires recorded 'reason to believe' and written grounds of arrest furnished to the arrestee forthwith.
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Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Three-judge Bench upheld the PMLA scheme: s.3 offence (including the explanation treating possession/use as money-laundering), s.5 attachment, s.19 arrest, s.24 reverse burden, substituted s.45 bail conditions, and s.50 inquiry powers of the ED, as not violating Articles 14/20/21 when read with the 2019 amendments. Teaching counterpart to Nikesh (which had struck down old s.45). SLP(Crl) 5487/2017 batch; 470 orders — use Judgement order-410.pdf 27 July 2022, not order-411.pdf ROP.
On this section: ED's s.19 arrest power upheld when the statutory 'reason to believe' conditions are met (later tightened by Pankaj Bansal on written grounds).
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Ram Kishor Arora vs Directorate of Enforcement
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where an authorized officer under Section 19(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, arrests a person and informs him orally about the grounds of arrest at the time of arrest, and subsequently furnishes a written communication about the grounds of arrest within twenty-four hours (as soon as may be), such action constitutes sufficient compliance with both Section 19(1) of PMLA and Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India. The requirement to furnish a written copy of grounds of arrest as a matter of course and without exception, as mandated in Pankaj Bansal judgment, applies prospectively from the date of that judgment (henceforth) and not retrospectively to arrests made before that date. A three-judge bench decision on a point of law is binding on a two-judge bench, and any two-judge bench decision that deviates from a three-judge bench decision on the same point falls in the category of per incuriam.
On this section: Power to arrest and requirement to inform arrestee of grounds of arrest as soon as may be; core provision under examination
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Arvind Kejriwal vs Directorate Of Enforcement
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An arrest under Section 19 PMLA is valid if procedural safeguards are met and the investigative agency possesses material suggesting guilt; political office or election schedules do not provide immunity from investigative processes or entitle an accused to dictate the manner of investigation.
On this section: Mandates 'reasons to believe' guilt based on material in possession for arrest.
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Marfing Tamang @ Maaina Tamang vs State (nct of Delhi)
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The word 'forthwith' appearing in Section 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, mandates that the grounds of arrest must be communicated to an arrestee immediately and simultaneously with the issuance of the arrest memo, not later within 24 hours. Any delay in communicating grounds of arrest, including communication during remand proceedings, violates the statutory requirement and the constitutional guarantee under Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India. The grounds of arrest must be reduced to writing and served upon the arrestee at the time of arrest itself, and the arrestee must be given meaningful opportunity to consult legal counsel after receiving such grounds before being subjected to remand proceedings.
On this section: Uses phrase 'as soon as may be' for informing grounds of arrest. Court distinguished this from 'forthwith' in Section 50 Cr.P.C., holding the latter is more stringent.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… Directorate of Enforcement <sup>3</sup> was rendered in the <sup>1</sup> 2024 SCC OnLine Del 9549 <sup>2</sup> 2024 SCC OnLine Del 8949 <sup>3</sup> (2024) 7 SCC 599 context of section 19 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 ("PMLA"), and it is arising from the text of section 19 of the PMLA that the Supreme Court has held that the said provision requires that the grounds for arrest have to be supplied " as soon as may be "; however the phrasing of section 50 Cr.P.C. requires that the …
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… has reasonable nexus with the purposes and objects of prevention of money-laundering and confiscation of the proceeds of crime involved in money-laundering and prosecution of the persons involved in the processes or activities connected with the proceeds of crime under the PMLA Act; the Constitutional validity of section 19 was upheld. Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers the Judicial Magistrate to authorize the detention of an accused in the custody of the police and, until the accused is committed the Court of Sessions, the Magistrate is vested with the power under section 209 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to …
Made under this section, and citing it
1 instrument states that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.
Another 1 instrument names this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 19
What have the courts held on Section 19 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act?
Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India (03 Oct 2023) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.19 arrest requires recorded 'reason to believe' and written grounds of arrest furnished to the arrestee forthwith. Another 4 judgments on this section are set out below, 3 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2022 to 2025.
How do I find court cases under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Pmla 19, section 19 Pmla, section 19 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act. People searching for it also type pmla 19 1 and 19 pmla act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 5 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India (03 Oct 2023).
What should I read with Section 19 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, and has it changed?
3 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there is one: most recently Notification appointing Director of Enforcement (2005).
When did Section 19 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act come into force?
Section 19 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, cited as Pmla 19, came into force on 01 Jul 2005, having been enacted on 17 Jan 2003. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions1773 words
- 8. Adjudication975 words
- 6. Adjudicating Authorities, composition, powers, etc781 words
- 73. Power to make rules704 words
- 17. Search and seizure570 words
- 5. Attachment of property involved in money-laundering570 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.