S.17 PMLA | Can't Direct ED To Serve 'Reasons To Believe' Before Conducting Search, May Lead To Concealment Of Evidence: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that it cannot issue an omnibus direction mandating the Enforcement Directorate to serve 'reason to believe' the commission of money laundering offence before conducting a search in terms of Section 17 PMLA, as the same may alert the suspect to conceal evidence."Section 17 is a preliminary stage where based on some information in possession the ED search is conducted and if no prima facie case is made out, automatically all action is dropped, but if any...

Madras High Court Reserves Orders On Pleas Challenging ED Search At TASMAC Headquarters, Verdict Likely On April 23

The Madras High Court has reserved orders on pleas filed by the State Government and the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation challenging the recent searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate on the TASMAC headquarters on March 6 and March 8. The bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice K Rajasekar reserved the orders today after hearing Senior Advocate Vikas Singh for TASMAC. In the previous hearing itself the court had said that it would reserve the orders but gave a special...

PMLA | Not Mandatory For Court To Conclude That Accused Is Innocent Before Granting Bail: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has said that for the purpose of granting bail to an accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it is not a mandatory requirement that the Court must arrive at a finding that the petitioner had not committed any offence under the PMLA.Justice N.S. Shekhawat said, "Therefore, this Court has no hesitation to hold that the restrictions, while considering the matter of bail, are required to be construed reasonably. If the Court comes to the...

BNSS & BSA Grant Discretion To Summon, Examine Witnesses Allowing Trial Courts To Determine How To Proceed In PMLA Cases: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshiya Adhiniyam (BSA) grant discretion in the manner for summoning and examining witnesses, allowing the Trial Court to determine whether to proceed with the PMLA trial or to keep it in abeyance until the predicate offence trial is concluded.A division bench of Justice A.Muhamed Mustaque and Justice P. Krishna Kumar observed that delaying the PMLA trial until the conclusion of the trial in the...

PMLA | For Acts Done Prior To Enactment Penalty Follows Only If Proceeds Of Crime Are Utilized, Article 20(1) Is Not Violated: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court has held that Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 does not penalize a person for his past actions, but penal consequences only follow when the accused utilizes the proceeds of the crime from past actions for money laundering after the enactment of PMLA and the amendment to its schedule in 2009. The Court thus held that Section 3 of the PMLA criminalizes the act of money laundering and does not violate Article 20(1) of the Constitution.The appellant/petitioners had...

Mandate Of Serving Grounds Of Arrest In Writing Under UAPA Applies To Arrests From Date Of SC's Pankaj Bansal Ruling: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Thursday ruled that the mandate of serving grounds of arrest in writing to an arrestee under UAPA will apply to arrests from the date of pronouncement of Supreme Court ruling in Pankaj Bansal case delivered on October 03, 2023, and not from the date of pronouncement of subsequent decision in Prabir Purkayastha case.“…..the ratio of Pankaj Bansal would apply to arrests under the UAPA and other criminal offences from the date of pronouncement of Pankaj Bansal (i.e.,...

Karnataka High Court Allows ED To Access Aadhar Database For Probing Case Under PMLA

The Karnataka High Court has allowed a petition filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) and directed the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to permit ED to examine the Aadhar database of 21 persons including the identity information or authentication records, while probing a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. A single judge, Justice Hemant Chandangoudar while allowing the petition said “An investigation into an offence of money laundering being...

No Violation Of Natural Justice Principles If Accused Not Given Advance Copy Of S. 50 PMLA Application: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has recently observed that not providing an advanced copy of the application filed by the Director of Enforcement (ED) under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, to the accused does not violate the principles of natural justice, as the accused has no right to oppose it. For context, under Section 50 of the PMLA, an ED officer is authorised to summon a person and request information from him regarding the case under the 2002 Act. It...

Existence Of "Proceeds Of Crime" Is Pre-Condition For Money-Laundering: J&K High Court Quashes PMLA Complaints In Alleged ₹250 Cr Scam

Underscoring the necessity of the existence of "proceeds of crime" for constituting an offence under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has reiterated that in the absence of such proceeds, no money-laundering offence could arise.Quashing complaints filed under the PMLA in an alleged 250 crore scam Justice Javed Iqbal Wani observed,“Having regard to the aforesaid position obtaining in the matter, inasmuch as the admitted facts noticed...

PMLA Case | Allahabad HC Denies Bail To Man Accused Of Duping People By Impersonating Person Close To PM Modi

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday denied bail to one Mohammad Kashif, booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, on the allegations that he duped people financially by flaunting on social media morphed images with ministers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Denying him the relief, a bench of Justice Samit Gopal noted that the alleged recovery of huge amount of money and other related documents and articles corroborate his deeds and that there is nothing credible to...

PMLA Does Not Intend To Attach Or Confiscate All Properties Of A Person Connected With Crime: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has observed that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA) does not intend to attach or confiscate all properties of a person connected with crime, especially those properties that were acquired before even the commission of the crime.A senior citizen and his wife have approached the Court seeking to quash an order of provisional attachment issued under the PMLA. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas thus set aside the order of provisional attachment of properties purchased...

Reining in Excess: Punjab & Haryana High Court's Judgments Curtailing ED's Arbitrary Powers

The arrest and detention under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act often turn out to be a punishment due to the wide powers given to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and its stringent bail provisions. The Supreme Court, in August, pointed out that after the amendment, over the past ten years, around 5,000 cases have been registered under the PMLA, but conviction has been obtained in only 40 cases.In the evolving jurisprudence of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Punjab and...