Mumbai: Observing that prolonged incarceration cannot be permitted to convert into pre-trial detention without proceedings concluding in the near future, a special PMLA court on Thursday granted bail to a 52-year-old builder, Lalit Tekchandani, arrested a year ago in a money launderingcase. The judge said that to date, investigations in PMLA were not completed. “As there are 596 witnesses, there is no possibility the trial will start and conclude in the near future or in a reasonable time.Already, for 14 months, the accused is in judicial custody… There is no possibility of completion of trial in near future. In case the incarceration of the accused continued, it will amount to infringement of his fundamental right under Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty),” special judge A C Daga said.The judge also noted that during bail application hearing, the prosecution submitted a draft charge and requested the court to frame charges and proceed with the trial under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). However, the complainant has not officially informed the court that the investigation is complete and that no supplementary complaint will be filed, the judge said. “As such, it appears that at the time of hearing of the bail application, the draft charge was given only with an intention to see that the applicant should not be released on bail on the ground of delay in proceeding further with the trial,” the judge said.The judge further said crime documents are in custody of the probe agency. “The accused is a permanent resident in Mumbai. He also has roots in society. There is no possibility that the accused will flee from justice,” the judge said.The judge also said that as per Section 44 of PMLA, the trial of the predicate offence as well as PMLA has to be taken up simultaneously. The predicate or scheduled offence is one based on which ED registers its money laundering case. “It is important to note that in the first scheduled offence, which is filed by Chembur police station, there are 42 witnesses. In the second scheduled offence, which is filed by Taloja police station, there are 518 witnesses, and in the instant matter, there are 36 witnesses.As such, the total witnesses to be examined in all three matters are 596. The chargesheet and complaint total more than 44,000 pages,” the judge noted. ED initiated a PMLA probe as it was alleged Supreme Construction & Developer Pvt Ltd, a company controlled by Tekchandani and others, collected Rs 400 crore from several homebuyers for a housing project in Taloja. But the homebuyers were neither given flats nor was their money returned.