Home Case Index All Cases Money Laundering Money Laundering + AT Money Laundering - 2018 (5) TMI AT This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2018 (5) TMI 993 - AT - Money LaunderingOffense under PMLA - attachment orders - no notice before passing the attachment order or statement recorded - Held that:- The Adjudicating Authority upon receipt of a complaint under section 5(5) of Act; under section 8 (1) of the Act is bound to peruse the same and upon perusal of such a complaint if it has reason to believe that any person has committed an offence under section 3 of the Act or is in possession of proceeds of crime may serve a notice on such person calling upon them to indicate the means by which he has acquired the property attached under section 5(1) of the Act. There are no valid reasons to believe in order to pass the order of provisional attachment. Actually, the provisional attachment is just repetition of the allegation made in the complaint. Such allegations are treated as gospel truth. The appellant was not issued any notice before passing the attachment order. No statement of her was recorded in order to verify the position. The Complainant before attaching the property owned by the Appellant herein described at Sl. No. 29 in Para-2 of the Complaint. No copy of reason to believe was served before passing the provisional attachment order. The provisional order passed by the respondent is violative of principles of natural justice and violates the rights of this Appellant enshrined in Art. 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The notice issued by the Adjudicating Authority under Section 8 of the Act, is issued in gross violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India and is against principles of natural justice. No case was brought out against the appellant either in the charge-sheet filed by the Lokayuktha Police Wing or the complaint filed by the Complainant and as such Section 2(u) of PMLA does not come into operation and as a consequence of the same Section 5 of PMLA. Thus the present appeal is allowed with regard to the property owned by the appellant. The impugned order is set-aside. Consequently, the provisional attachment order pertaining to the appellant in relation to the property in question is quashed. Property is released forthwith.
|