Breaking: Supreme Court To Hear Today Review Petition Against Its PMLA Judgement

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK

24 Aug 2022 5:19 AM GMT

  • Breaking: Supreme Court To Hear Today Review Petition Against Its PMLA Judgement

    The Supreme Court will hear today a petition seeking review of its July 27 judgment in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary vs Union of India which upheld the power of arrest, attachment and search and seizure conferred on the Enforcement Directorate by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.The matter is listed at 1:20pm before a bench comprising CJI NV Ramana, Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and...

    The Supreme Court will hear today a petition seeking review of its July 27 judgment in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary vs Union of India which upheld the power of arrest, attachment and search and seizure conferred on the Enforcement Directorate by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

    The matter is listed at 1:20pm before a bench comprising CJI NV Ramana, Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar.

    Recently, a bench led by CJI Ramana had expressed concerns about the judgment, insofar as it allows ED to take possession of the property before trial in exceptional circumstances. "Having perused the said judgment, we are of the opinion that the aforesaid ratio requires further expounding in an appropriate case, without which, much scope is left for arbitrary application," it said.

    The plea has been moved by Congress MP Karti Chidambaram.

    Through the impugned judgment, a three-judge bench Bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar upheld the constitutionality of the provisions of Sections 5, 8(4), 15, 17 and 19 of the PMLA, which relate to the powers of ED's power of arrest, attachment, search and seizure.

    The Court also upheld the reverse burden of proof under Section 24 of the Act and said that it has "reasonable nexus" with the objects of the Act.

    The Court also upheld the "twin-conditions" for bail in Section 45 of the PMLA Act and said that the Parliament was competent to amend the said provision in 2018 even after the Supreme Court's judgment in the Nikesh Tharachand Shah case (which had struck down the twin conditions).

    The bench said that the Parliament is competent to amend Section 45 in the present form to cure the defects pointed out in the Supreme Court judgment.

    Read summary of the judgment here.

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