New Delhi. There is a lot of hue and cry these days about ED, which is tightening its grip on criminals across the country under the money trail. It is said that once ED arrests someone, the accused does not get bail for years. In the meantime, a case came up in the Supreme Court on Friday in which a person told the judge that Sir, I am a witness. CBI has presented me as a witness in a corruption case. Then how can ED take action against me under the Money Laundering Act.
While hearing this petition, the Supreme Court’s vacation bench of Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal made it clear to the person that just because a person is not named in any crime, it does not mean that he cannot be prosecuted under PMLA. In the petition, a person named Sudhir Gupta requested to cancel the ED’s case information report (ECIR) against him and the subsequent action. The bench told advocate Vijay Aggarwal, who appeared in the court on behalf of Gupta, that the ED’s ECIR can neither be canceled nor stopped.
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We are not satisfied…
The petitioner told the bench that he was produced as a witness in a related case registered by the CBI but the ED has made him an accused in the money laundering case. “Just because your name is not in the alleged crime, it does not mean that you cannot be prosecuted under PMLA,” the bench said. “My case is that I am a witness in this case,” he said. “We are not satisfied. We have also examined the merits of the case. Neither the ECIR can be quashed nor it can be stayed,” the bench said.
Petition withdrawn…
The counsel for the petitioner told the bench that the matter is listed for arguments on the charges before a special court in June. He sought permission from the bench to withdraw the petition with liberty to approach the Supreme Court later. The bench said, “Withdrawal is allowed without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case.” Apart from the request to quash the ECIR, the petitioner had also urged to quash the prosecution complaint filed by the ED.
Tags: Central Bureau of Investigation, enforcement directorate, Supreme Court
FIRST PUBLISHED : May 24, 2024, 22:58 IST