H. George Fernandes, the first accused in a money-laundering case (ECIR No.22 of 2011) before the Special Court, Chennai, sought bail before the Madras High Court under Section 483 BNSS. He had been arrested in October 2024 after absconding for nearly seven years and had been in custody for about one year and eleven months. The petitioner argued that a change of circumstances had arisen because the Special Court's docket entry of 21.09.2026 indicated that the PMLA trial may have to pause pending the trial of the predicate scheduled offences, which had not yet even commenced, potentially leaving him in indefinite custody. The Court found that while the docket entry raised a new circumstance, it was not a formal order staying the trial, the four-week period directed in the earlier order had not yet expired, and the question of whether the trial should pause was still pending before the Special Court; additionally, the petitioner's prolonged absconding and antecedents weighed heavily against him. Accordingly, the Court declined to grant bail at this stage, noting that the principle in V. Senthil Balaji v. Deputy Director, Directorate of Enforcement would ordinarily favour such an accused but that the delay was substantially attributable to the petitioner himself.