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TMI Blog2023 (9) TMI 725X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. 2. Heard both sides. Perused the record. 3. The main contention of the learned senior counsel Sri Pradyumna Kumar appearing on behalf of the petitioner is that the predicate offence which was investigated by the EOW, Bhopal was tried before the competent Court and acquitted by the said Court. The petitioner herein is not an accused in the predicate offence. However, the said case registered for the predicate offence ended in acquittal. Till date, no appeal was filed by the State questioning the acquittal. He further submits that in view of the Judgment of the Honourable Supreme court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary vs. Union of India and others 2022 SCC OnLine SC 929, once the predicate offence resulted i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rities have no jurisdiction to continue the proceedings under the PML Act. The authorities cannot justify the continuation of proceedings in spite of acquittal of main accused on the ground that there were previous tampering of e-tenders based on the suspicion, which action amounts of abuse of process." 5. Learned Counsel also relied on the orders of the Honourable Supreme Court in Parvathi Kollur v. State by Directorate of Enforcement in Criminal Appeal No.1254 of 2022 (arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 4258 of 2021) wherein it was held as follows; "Learned counsel for the appellants has contended that the issue as involved in this matter is no more res integra, particularly for the view taken by a 3-Judge Bench of this Court in the case of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... No. 1 had already been acquitted in relation to the scheduled offence and the present appellants were not accused of any scheduled offence." 6. Counsel further submits that the allegation against the petitioner is that he has facilitated the said Mantena Srinivas Raju and in return facilities of foreign trips, private airplane etc, were taken from the accused. The predicate offence ended in acquittal. The allegation against this petitioner is that he helped Mantena Srinivas Raju. But, the case against said Mantena Srinivas Raju in ECIR was also quashed by this Court. The said orders of quashing proceedings of the Enforcement Directorate against Mantena Srinivas Raju is neither suspended nor stayed by the Honourable Supreme Court. In the sa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l order. In such circumstances, no benefit can be extended to the petitioner and accordingly, the petition has to be dismissed. He relied on paragraph Nos. 290, 295 and 425 of the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary's case and argued that the proceeds of crime have to be dealt with and the culprits cannot go unpunished. Section 50 of PMLA empowers the officers to investigate into the case, which cannot be curtailed. 10. It cannot be disputed that the person who is not charged under the predicate offence cannot be investigated into under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002. Any person dealing with the proceeds of crime in any manner whatsoever comes within the purview of the offence punishable under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money-Launde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ner, the question of the petitioner herein being a beneficiary in any manner attracting Section 3 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002, does not arise. 14. The Honourable Supreme Court while cancelling the bail of this petitioner has not referred to Vijay Madanlal Choudhary's case. The Judgment in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary's case was rendered by the 3-Judge Bench of Honourable Supreme Court. The bail of the petitioner was cancelled by a 2-Judge Bench. 15. Article 141 of the Constitution recognizes the doctrine of stare decisis. The doctrine of stare decisis establishes that the subordinate courts are bound to follow the decisions pronounced by the higher courts while dealing with cases with similar legal issues. Ignoring the ruli ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed by the 3-Judge Bench of the Honourable Supreme Court in Vijay Madanlal Chudhary's case (cited supra), that if a person is finally discharged or acquitted of a scheduled offence or the criminal case, is quashed by the court of competent jurisdiction, there can be no offence of money laundering against him or anyone claiming such property being the property linked to stated scheduled offence through him. As already discussed, the petitioner is being investigated for taking benefits from Mantena Srinivas. The said person was acquitted of the predicate offence and the proceedings against him in the present ECIR were also quashed on the ground that there were no criminal proceeds. In the said circumstances when there are no "criminal proceeds ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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