The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to record a petition looking for its evaluate Order to retain the powers of Enforcement Directorate Arrest below the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, regarding attachment, search and seizure of property concerned in cash laundering.
“Okay, we will list it,” a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana stated after the petition was talked about. It is widespread expertise the world over that cash laundering generally is a “threat” to the nice functioning of a monetary system, the apex court docket noticed on July 27 whereas upholding the validity of sure provisions of the PMLA. It underlined that it was not a “simple offence”.
The Center has been emphasizing that cash laundering is against the law dedicated not solely by unscrupulous merchants but in addition by terrorist organizations, which poses a severe menace to nationwide safety.
A bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar had held that officers are “not police officers” below the 2002 Act and the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) can’t be clubbed with an FIR below the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The bench had stated that the provision of an ECIR copy in each case to the individual involved isn’t obligatory and it’s enough if the ED discloses the grounds of such arrest on the time of arrest.
In the case, the petitioners had raised the problem of non-disclosure of the contents of ECIR to the accused.
The court docket’s choice got here on over 200 petitions filed by people and different entities questioning varied provisions of the PMLA, a legislation that the opposition typically claims the federal government has weaponized to harass its political opponents.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
