Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice M Jothiraman held that the money laundering offence is a stand-alone offence, it is wrong to state that only when predicate or schedule offence is proved can the prosecution under the prevention of money laundering act (PMLA) proceedings be taken up.

+
+
+

Home NewsTamil Nadu
Madras HC refuses to quash ED case against parties under CBI probe, says cases involve two different offences
PMLA does not state that the predicate offence has to be proved for the prosecution under the money laundering proceedings, wrote the bench.
DTNEXT Bureau
23 Nov 2024 10:02 PM
Advertisement

Madras High Court

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court refused to quash an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered against the proprietors of private companies for an alleged tainted money transaction, saying that predicate offence and money laundering case cannot be considered the same in the case filed by Directorate of Enforcement.

Relying upon several judgments of the Supreme Court including the landmark Vijay Madanlal Choudhary vs Union of India case, a division bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice M Jothiraman held that the money laundering offence is a stand-alone offence, it is wrong to state that only when predicate or schedule offence is proved can the prosecution under the prevention of money laundering act (PMLA) proceedings be taken up.

Also Read – Madras University seeks details from colleges for NIRF ranking
Advertisement

PMLA does not state that the predicate offence has to be proved for the prosecution under the money laundering proceedings, wrote the bench. The petitioners C Manoharan, M Thenmozhi and C Lakshmi moved the court seeking to quash the PMLA proceedings of ED.

In 2014 CBI booked cases against the petitioners on the alleged offence of importing carbide inserts by evading customs duty between 2009-2011 and caused Rs 4.35 crore loss to the exchequer. While the trial was pending, ED filed ECIR against the petitioners and brought in money laundering charges.

The ED issued a show cause notice to the petitioners demanding a differential duty of Rs 13.79 crore from Nithish Tools Private Limited and Rs 3 crore from Shree Sai Enterprises.

Also Read – Capturing the land: Exhibition explores Tamil Nadu’s landscape art and cultural identity
Advertisement

Aggrieved by the money laundering proceedings initiated by ED, the petitioners moved the court to quash the case pending against them before the principal sessions court, Chennai.

The petitioners contended that the allegations both under the predicate offence and the money laundering offence are one and the same. So, they sought to quash the ED proceedings as the CBI had already initiated proceedings for the predicate offence.

The bench refused to accept the contention and wrote that the offence under the Customs Act is totally different and distinct, the petitioners are attempting to paint two distinct offences as if it is the very same transaction.

The bench dismissed the petition and directed the trial court to continue with proceedings against the petitioners.

Madras High CourtMHCEnforcement DirectoratePMLA Case
PlayUnmute
Fullscreen

Advertisement

Leave a comment
Comment Now
RELATED ARTICLES

Tamil Nadu
Madras University seeks details from colleges for NIRF ranking
In addition, the university also sought reports from its research department and research centres.

Tamil Nadu
Capturing the land: Exhibition explores Tamil Nadu’s landscape art and…
Painting Places delves into the magic of the painted landscape through works by five artists from Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu
Vidiyal Payanam: Women took 571 crore trips worth Rs 9,144 crore till…
The estimated cost of the free trips undertaken by the women under the Vidiyal Payanam scheme so far is Rs 9,143.70 crore, it said.

Tamil Nadu
Fist fights in some, stymied in others, AIADMK review meet exposes…
Edappadi Palaniswami’s ambitious poll preparation exercise was turned into an embarrassment for the party leadership as the chaos sent a wrong signal…

Tamil Nadu
North East monsoon: Will poor rains leave Chennai city parched ?
There is a rainfall deficit in many districts but officials tell DT Next there would be no drought in summer even if northeast monsoon fails

Tamil Nadu
Enrolment of women candidates in ITIs across TN crosses 95 per