​A Mumbai sessions court recently ruled that an accused individual’s decision to remain silent during interrogation does not violate bail conditions. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had sought to cancel the bail of businessman Sameer Merchant, alleging non-cooperation during their investigation into a gold smuggling case. The court noted that Merchant had attended the DRI’s office as required and had responded to some questions with statements like “I have no comments on this” and “I choose to remain silent.” The judge emphasized that exercising the constitutional right to remain silent cannot be considered a breach of bail conditions.

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