Prevention of Money Laundering Act judgement review: Supreme Court adjourns hearing till November 27

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned, till November 27, the hearing on a batch of petitions seeking a review of the 2022 judgment in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary case, which had upheld the ED’s powers related to arrest, searches, seizures, and attachment of property, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 

A bench, headed by Justice Surya Kant, decided to defer the hearing on joint request made by the parties.

In an earlier hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing on behalf of the review petitioners, objected to the adjournment of the proceedings, saying that the matter was repeatedly adjourned at the ED’s instance.

Before this, the special bench, also comprising Justices C.T. Ravikumar and Ujjal Bhuyan, did not assemble due to the non-availability of Justice Ravikumar and thereafter, it was decided to re-list the clutch of review petitions for hearing on September 18.

A three-judge bench, in the case of Vijay Madanlal Choudhary & Others vs Union of India & Others, had turned down the challenge to vires of Section 50 of the PMLA giving power to the ED to summon an accused and record the statement, which is admissible evidence in the court of law.

The 2022 decision, rendered by a bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar (now retired), affirmed the stringent provisions of PMLA in connection with the definition of proceeds of crime, power of arrest, search & seizure, attachment of properties and also the twin bail conditions. Subsequently, a bench headed by then CJI N.V. Ramana had agreed to review its PMLA judgment for two main concerns — non-providing of ECIR to the accused at the time of arrest, and negation of presumption of innocence. A special bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna is dealing with another batch of petitions seeking reconsideration of the 2022 PMLA judgment and its reference to a larger bench. (IANS)

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