The Supreme Court of India has set July 31 to hear review petitions against its 2022 verdict upholding the Enforcement Directorate’s powers under PMLA. The adjournment came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta cited unavailability. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal raised no objection. The court had earlier agreed to reconsider two key aspects.
Representational Image. File Pic
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India set July 31 as the date for hearing a batch of petitions seeking a review of the 2022 ruling that upholds the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) powers of arrest and attachment of property engaged in money laundering, as well as search and seizures of assets under the Protection of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
As reported by news agency PTI, the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi adjourned the matter, which was listed for hearing on Wednesday, to July 31 after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said he was not available.
Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said that he has no objection if the matter is listed on July 31.
On May 7, the apex court of India asked the Centre and the petitioners to frame issues to be adjudicated in challenge to a verdict that upheld the Enforcement Directorate's powers to arrest and attach property of the accused under PMLA and other economic offences.
On the contrary, the centre had contended that the hearing on the review petitions cannot go beyond the two specific issues flagged by the bench, which issued notice on the petitions in August 2022.
Responding to this, senior advocate Kapil Sibal earlier had also submitted that the matter was required to be referred to a larger bench.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had contended that the bench, which considered the review petitions for admission in August 2022, issued notice only on two aspects—the supply of the ECIR copy to the accused and reversal of the burden of proof under Section 24 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Supreme Court of India, earlier in July 2022, upheld the powers of arrest and attachment of property involved in money laundering and search and seizure under PMLA for ED.
Furthermore, during August 2022, the top court agreed to hear pleas seeking review of its verdict and observed that two aspects "prima facie" required reconsideration.
Supreme Court of India while underlining that money laundering is not an "ordinary offence." It also observed that it is a "threat" to the good functioning of a financial system world. The apex court further upheld the validity of certain provisions of the PMLA.
The top court also said that authorities under the 2002 law were "not police officers as such," and the ECIR could not be equated with an FIR under the Code of Criminal Procedure, as per PTI.
It further stated that the provision of an ECIR copy to the individual in question was not mandatory and that the ED was sufficient to disclose the reasons for the arrest at the time.
The 2022 verdict was the result of a collection of more than 200 petitions that questioned the various provisions of the PMLA. The opposition frequently alleges that the government is using the law to persecute its political opponents.
However, the Supreme Court of India said that Section 45 of the PMLA, which pertains to offences that are cognisable and non-bailable and have dual bail conditions, is reasonable and does not suffer from arbitrariness or unreasonableness.
(With PTI Inputs)
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