'Stranger' Facing No Direct Prejudice Can't Seek Cancellation Of Bail: P&H High Court Declines Plea Against IREO MD's Bail In PMLA Case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused to cancel the bail granted to the Managing Director of IREO Group, observing that a stranger to the case, who has not suffered any direct prejudice, has no legal standing to seek cancellation of bail.A plea for cancellation was filed by a person stating to be a practising Advocate and a "prospective home buyer", alleging that the MD has transferred his property despite a restriction, and the inaction on the part of the Enforcement Directorate (ED)...

Allowing Retention Of Seized Property Without Strictly Following PMLA Undermines Purpose Of Procedural Safeguards: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Friday ruled that allowing retention of seized property without strict adherence to PMLA provisions would amount to a violation of the legislative mandate of the enactment and would undermine the very purpose of incorporating procedural safeguards therein.A division bench comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar said that the processes of search, seizure, freezing, attachment, and retention under PMLA are embedded with procedural...

'Remained Uncooperative': Punjab & Haryana High Court Rejects Ex-MLA Dharam Singh Chokker's Plea Challenging ED Arrest In PMLA Case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed the petition filed by former Haryana MLA Dharam Singh Chokker, who had challenged his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.It is alleged that the Company owned by Chokker and his family, Mahira Infratech Pvt Ltd had collected Rs 363 crore from homebuyers for the construction of 1,500 flats to be delivered in 2021-2022. The company accounts, funds were allegedly...

Madras High Court Summons ED Assistant Director In Contempt Plea For Continuing PMLA Probe Despite HC Stay Order

The Madras High Court, on Wednesday, issued a statutory notice to the Assistant Director of Enforcement, Vikas Kumar, in a contempt petition filed by film producer Akash Baskaran for continuing the probe in an alleged money laundering case despite a stay issued by the High Court. The bench of Justice MS Ramesh and Justice V Lakshminarayanan issued notice asking the Assistant Director to appear before it on September 17. The bench expressed its displeasure after noting that the...

Being 'Sick And Infirm' Not Automatic Passport For Bail In PMLA, Medical Plea Can't Override Gravity Of Offence: Delhi High Court

Underscoring that being “sick and infirm” is not an automatic passport for bail in PMLA cases, the Delhi High Court has observed that medical plea cannot override the gravity of offence of money laundering. Justice Ravinder Dudeja observed that illness warrants bail only when treatment in custody is clearly inadequate. “Therefore, the medical plea cannot override the gravity of the offence, societal interest, and the statutory rigour governing such matters,” the Court said. The judge made the...

[Section 223 BNSS] Cognizance On ED Complaint Can't Be Taken Without Hearing Accused: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that special court cannot take cognizance of the complaint filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) without giving opportunity of hearing to the accused.Justice Ravinder Dudeja set aside a special judge order dismissing the application of an accused in a PMLA case seeking a pre cognizance hearing in the money laundering case in terms of proviso to Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.The Court said that the impugned order failed to...

'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...

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...

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...