Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere In Delhi HC Order Quashing NBWs Against Engineer.ai Founder

The Delhi High Court on December 19, 2025 had quashed the warrants, holding that non-bailable warrants during investigation could be issued only against a person “who is accused of a non-bailable offence and is evading arrest.”

The High Court noted that the ED itself had consistently treated Duggal as a “suspect” and had even described him as a “witness” in the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) request sent to United Kingdom authorities for service of summons.

Referring to Section 73 CrPC, the Court observed that “this distinction is material” since the provision applies only to a person accused of a non-bailable offence.

“We see no reason to entertain this Special Leave Petition. The same stands disposed of.”, the Court said.

Additional Solicitor General S.D. Sanjay appearing for ED, argued that the accused had repeatedly avoided appearing before the trial court and investigation authorities despite having knowledge of the proceedings, forcing issuance of a non-bailable warrant (NBW).

He submitted that the High Court wrongly quashed the warrant under Section 482 CrPC as the accused kept seeking adjournments and protections while refusing to join the investigation. The ASG further contended that mere filing of a vakalatnama through counsel could not substitute the accused's personal appearance when required by the court.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Sachin Duggal, argued that he had not gone abroad after the February 10, 2023 order, as he was already residing in the UK and was a UK citizen. He submitted that the complaint itself had been filed only on February 10, 2023 and that pre cognizance notice under Section 223 of BNSS had not yet been issued to Duggal as an accused.

It was further argued that the ED had merely proposed to file an application seeking issuance of an NBW, which was yet to be considered by the trial court, and therefore no NBW had actually been issued at that stage.

Background

The case arose from a petition filed by Sachin Dev Duggal, founder of Engineer.ai challenging non-bailable warrants issued against him in an ED money laundering probe linked to the Videocon Group bank fraud case. The warrants were issued by the Special Judge, PMLA, Rouse Avenue Courts in February 2023 after the ED alleged that Duggal failed to comply with multiple summons during investigation.

The probe stemmed from a June 23, 2020 CBI FIR against Venugopal Dhoot and others alleging diversion of foreign currency loans by Videocon group companies, causing losses of about Rs. 61,773 crore to Indian banks.

Based on the FIR, the ED registered an ECIR under the PMLA on June 30, 2020. The agency alleged that companies linked to Duggal, including Nivio Technology India Pvt Ltd and nHoldings SA, were involved in transactions with Videocon group entities.

The Delhi High Court quashed the warrants holding that non-bailable warrants during investigation can be issued only against a person accused of a non-bailable offence and evading arrest. The court noted that the ED itself had described Duggal as a suspect and not an accused.