Home Case Index All Cases Money Laundering Money Laundering + HC Money Laundering - 2017 (4) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2017 (4) TMI 1 - HC - Money LaunderingPrevention of Money Laundering - order of attachment - Held that:- It can be seen from the records that all the offences allegedly committed by the writ petitioner were earlier to the insertion of the provision in the schedule of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009, and as such, they have no application. Therefore, the Enforcement Case Information Report and the order of attachment are without jurisdiction and are liable to be quashed. As we have, already, held that the writ petitioner cannot be prosecuted for the offences alleged, as they are not the scheduled offences under the PML Act. Those offences under the Mines and Geology (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, were included in the PML Act declaring them as scheduled offences only with effect from June 1, 2009. Hence, the Enforcement Directorate could not have invoked the provisions of the PML Act with retrospective effect. The petitioner cannot be tried and punished for the offences under the PML Act when the offences were not inserted in the schedule of offences under the PML Act. This would deny the writ petitioner the protection provided under clause (1) of Article 20 of the Constitution of India. Article 20(1) of the Constitution of India prohibits the conviction of a person or his being subjected to penalty for ex-post facto laws. Consequently, the order of attachment is, also, liable to be set aside. Whether allegation of theft or illegal mining is not a scheduled offence under the PML Act? - Held that:- As the offence of theft is not a scheduled offence under the PML Act, by applying the same principles as we have taken above, we find no merit in the initiation of proceedings against the petitioners in these writ petitions under the amended PML Act. Hence, the action taken against them under the said Act is, also, liable to be quashed. An ECIR can, only, be registered once there has been a conviction and a judicial conclusion has been arrived at as to the quantum of proceeds of that crime. It is only upon a conviction by a trial court in the predicate offence the accused could be investigated upon accordingly.We, therefore, allow all these writ petitions and quash the action initiated against all these writ petitioners by the enforcement authorities. We, also, quash the attachment orders passed against the writ petitioners.
|