Supreme Court Orders Release Of Rs.1 Crore Deposited By Lok Sabha MP Karti P Chidambaram As Pre-Condition For Foreign Travel

The Supreme Court today ordered release of Rs.1 crore amount deposited by Lok Sabha MP Karti P Chidambaram with the Court's Secretary General as a pre-condition for foreign travel in 2022.A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh passed the order, noting that pursuant to the 2022 order, Chidambaram travelled abroad and deposited his passport with the Investigating Officer after coming back to India."Miscellaneous application is allowed and amount of Rs.1 crore...

PMLA Review Hearing : Live Updates From Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is hearing the review petitions filed against the 2022 judgment in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary case which upheld the various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) relating to arrest, search & seizure, reverse burden of proof, non-supply of ECIR copy etc.A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice NK Singh has decided to hear the preliminary objections raised by the Enforcement Directorate and the Union to the...

CJI BR Gavai To Discuss With Justice Surya Kant On Hearing PMLA Review & Pleas To Refer 'Vijay Madanlal' Judgment Together

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal on Monday (August 4) requested Chief Justice of India to list the petitions seeking the larger bench reference of the 'Vijay Madanlal Choudhary' judgment (which upheld the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act) along with the review petitions against the said judgment, which are scheduled to be heard on August 6.Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta however opposed the request, saying that the petitioners were attempting to expand the limited...

Supreme Court Asks Ex-Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, Son To Approach High Court For Interim Reliefs In Liquor 'Scam' & Other Cases

The Supreme Court on Monday (August 4) asked former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and his son Chaitanya Baghel to approach the Chhattisgarh High Court for interim reliefs in the Coal 'scam' cases, Liquor 'scam' cases, Mahadev betting app cases, Rice milling cases and DMF 'scam' cases lodged by the Enforcement Directorate, CBI and State Police.Briefly put, Chaitanya Baghel (who was arrested 2 weeks ago) questioned the necessity of his arrest and sought interim bail in the ED case...

Supreme Court To First Hear ED's Objections To Maintainability Of Review Petitions Against Judgment Upholding PMLA Provisions

The Supreme Court on Thursday (July 3) observed that it will first hear the issue of maintainability of the review petitions filed against the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary judgement, which upheld various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), before going into other issues raised by the petitioners.Clarifying the above, a bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh posted the review petitions for hearing on August 6.During the brief hearing today,...

Supreme Court Stays PMLA Trial In Case Where Chargesheet In Predicate Offence Not Filed For 7 Yrs

The Supreme Court recently stayed trial against 4 accused in a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act where chargesheet had not been filed in the predicate offense since 7 years. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order after hearing Senior Advocate PB Suresh (on behalf of the petitioners), who argued that the petitioners were not named in the predicate offense and questioned how trial could proceed in the PMLA case when chargesheet had not been filed in...

Asset Replacement Under PMLA - M3M Builder Landmark Verdict

Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (“PMLA”) has been a law of fierce enforcement, known for its severity, rigor and stringency has been recently interpreted for an attachment of property case of Joint Director & Anr. v. Eastern Institute for Integrated Learning in Management University & Anr., by the Supreme Court, which raises eyebrows and leaves a few questions to ponder upon.The Enforcement Directorate (“ED”) provisionally attached high-value assets of M3M in a money laundering...

'When Pre-Cognizance Hearing U/S 223(1) BNSS Is Not Conducted, Further Proceedings Are A Nullity In Law': Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has set aside an order taking cognizance of proceedings initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act, upon observing that cognizance had been taken by the special court, without complying with the mandatory requirement of holding a pre-cognizance hearing under Section 223(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya held: "In view of the above findings, the impugned order dated February 15, 2025, taking cognizance of...

Whether Discharge In Predicate Offence Automatically Invalidates PMLA Proceedings? Supreme Court To Consider

The Supreme Court is set to consider the issue as to whether discharge in the predicate/scheduled offence would automatically invalidate proceedings initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi is dealing with the challenge to a Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court order, which held that discharge in the predicate offence does not automatically invalidate PMLA proceedings.Notice was issued on the petition in the parting Court...

SC's Vijay Madanlal Judgment Doesn't Exempt Foreign Recipients Of Proceeds Of Crime From Scrutiny On Mere Contractual Legitimacy Of Transaction: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has made it clear that foreign recipients of proceeds of crime are not exempted from scrutiny under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, on a mere ground of 'contractual legitimacy' of transactions.Justice Ravinder Dudeja thus rejected the plea of one Amrit Pal Singh, a resident of Hong Kong for the past 17 years, being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.As per facts, Singh's company received fraudulent foreign outward remittances amounting to USD 2,880,210...

Summoning Advocates By Enforcement Directorate

On 14.06.2025, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued summons under PMLA Section 50 to Senior Advocate Arvind Datar in connection with its investigation into the Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) granted by Care Health Insurance (previously Religare Health Insurance) to former Religare Enterprises Chairperson Rashmi Saluja. SCAORA, Madras Bar Association, Delhi High Court Bar Association, Gujarat High Court Advocates Association and the statement by SCBA President amongst several other senior...

'Pankaj Bansal' Judgment On Supply Of Grounds Of Arrest Applies Only Prospectively, Argues Karnataka Govt In Supreme Court

In a case filed by the State of Karnataka, the Supreme Court is likely to consider the issue as to whether its judgment in Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India, which held that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) must furnish grounds of arrest to the accused in writing, is retrospective in application.A bench of Justices KV Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh heard the matter yesterday and adjourned it to June 26.The case assails decision dated 17.04.2025 rendered by the Karnataka High Court holding...