Delhi High Court Quashes ED Attachment Orders In PACL Case, Refers Matter To Justice Lodha Committee

The Delhi High Court has set aside provisional attachment orders issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with PACL-linked properties, holding that the matter ought to be dealt with under the Supreme Court-monitored framework headed by the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee.Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav observed that the continuation of proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in relation to PACL assets would run contrary to the mechanism evolved by the Supreme Court under Article 142 for protection and restitution of investors' interests.The Court was hearing petitions filed by DDPL Global Infrastructure Private Limited, which is considered a beneficiary of funds siphoned from the massive PACL investment scam.It challenged attachment orders issued by the ED over certain properties allegedly linked to PACL Ltd., the real estate investment entity that has been under scrutiny for allegedly mobilising funds from investors through unlawful schemes.The petitioners argued that the assets in question were already under the control and supervision of the Justice Lodha Committee, which had been constituted by the Supreme Court to oversee sale of PACL properties and refund money to investors. It was contended that parallel attachment proceedings by the ED would create conflict and uncertainty in implementation of the apex court's directions.Accepting the submissions, the High Court noted that the ED itself had earlier acknowledged the authority of the Justice Lodha Committee in matters concerning PACL asset recovery. “it is evident, that ED was cognizant of the Scheme laid down by the Supreme Court, vide order dated 02.02.2016. It had previously taken the route of providing information to the Lodha Committee for the purpose of attachment of assets allegedly linked to PACL. Said route, ex facie it appears, was the ED, in effect, adhering to and modifying its own powers under the PMLA, to fulfil the goal sought be achieved by the Supreme Court through its directions passed under Article 142 of the Constitution concerning the affairs of PACL.”It further remarked that the PMLA attachment regime, if permitted to continue independently, would be “in stark contrast” to the restitution framework evolved by the Supreme Court.“owing to the stark contrast between the ultimate objective of the scheme of the PMLA, where the properties are intended to vest with the Central Government; and that established by the Supreme Court under Article 142 of the Constitution, where the properties, or their proceeds, are restored with the investors, the Impugned Orders, which have been passed under Section 5 of the PMLA, without prior consultation or intimation with the Lodha Committee, can ex facie be considered as being in the teeth of the Supreme Court directions.”Accordingly, the High Court set aside the impugned attachment orders and relegated the parties to approach the Justice Lodha Committee for appropriate reliefs.Appearance: Mr. Dayan Krishnan, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Nitesh Jain, Mr. Adrish Majumder, Mr. Hridhay Khurana, Mr. Shreedhar Kale and Mr. Somit Kumar Singh, Advs. for Petitioners; Mr Anupam S Sharrma, Ms Harpreet Kalsi, Mr Vashisht Rao, Ms Amisha P Dash, Mr Abhiyant Singh, Mr Mayank Tyagi, Advs. Mr. Zoheb Hossain, Special Counsel with Mr. Vivek Gurnani, Mr. Pranjal Tripathi,Ms. Tanvi Jain and Mr. Satyam, Advs. for RespondentCase title: DDPL Global Infrastructure Private Limited & Anr. v. EDCitation: 2026 LiveLaw (Del) 497Case no.: W.P.(C) 8406/2022Click here to read order

Delhi High Court Quashes ED Attachment Orders In PACL Case, Refers Matter To Justice Lodha Committee

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