oppn parties Stringent PMLA Provisions Held Valid By Supreme Court

News Snippets

  • For the first time ever, Mukesh Ambani buys a 29% stake in Gautam Adani's Mahan Energen, a subsidiary of Adani Power to source 500MW of electricity from the company's power plant in MP
  • Stocks continue to rise on Thursday - Sensex gains 639 points to 73635 and Nifty 203 points to 22326
  • Golf - Indian Open: 3 Indians at tied 14th as Joost Luiten takes the lead with a wonderful 7-under 65
  • IPL: RR beat DC by 12 runs as Riyan Parag (84 off just 45 balls) shines
  • SP drops two candidates owing allegiance to Azam Khan from Rampur and Moradabad
  • In Assam, a controversy erupted after a picture of UPPL leader Benjamin Basumatary, lying on a stack of Rs 500 notes circulated on social media. UPPL is an ally of the BJP
  • AAP's Jalandhar-West MP Sushil Kumar Rinku joins the BJP. He was the only AAP Lok Sabha MP
  • Supreme Court dismisses Centre's plea to review its 2023 verdict in the PMLA case
  • Close save for passengers as they remain unhurt after the wings of two planes graze at Kolkata airport. Pilots derostered and inquiry ordered by DGCA
  • Bengal BJP leader Dilip Ghosh gets notice from the EC as well as the BJP for making ugly remarks about Mamata Banerjee's parentage
  • Sadanand Vasanth Date, who faught terrorists in the 26/11 attack and was awarded the Preisent's Police medal, has been appointed the head of the NIA
  • Centre will borrow Rs 7.5L cr in the first six months of FY25, nearly 50% of the target for the full year
  • 25 stocks, including SBI, will see same day trade settlements from today in the world's fastest settlement mode in both BSE and NSE
  • Stocks recover smartly on Wednesday: Sensex rises 526 points to 72996 and Nifty 118 points to 22123
  • Tennis: Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden reached the semifinals of the Miami Open
Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena says government cannot be run from jail, hints at President's Rule in the capital ////// In a dangerous incident, the wings of two planes grazed while taxiing on the runway at Kolkata airport, all passengers were safe but DGCA ordered an inquiry and the pilots were derostered
oppn parties
Stringent PMLA Provisions Held Valid By Supreme Court

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-07-28 07:40:04

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court has examined the stringent provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) and has found them to be within the ambit of the constitution. It has also said that the stringent bail conditions set in PMLA are valid as the defects pointed out by the SC in 2017 had been subsequently cured and are now valid. The bench was also of the view that the special powers granted to the Enforcement Directorate (ED)  were also not in conflict with the constitution as the same powers were there in other laws which have stood the test of time and had not been declared unconstitutional. SC also upheld the provision that statements made before the ED are admissible in a court of law. 

The Supreme Court said that apart from concealment, possession and acquisition of a property linked to the proceeds of crime, even projecting such a property as being 'untainted' was an offence under the PMLA. This means that anyone buying a 'tainted' property, even unknowingly, can be prosecuted under PMLA. The court also upheld the power of the ED to arrest the accused without supplying him with the ECIR (enforcement case information report) and by just informing him or her of the reason for the arrest. It also held as valid ED's power to seize assets under PMLA without the registration of scheduled offence or filing of complaint.

After the Supreme Court order, many PMLA cases that were stuck due to court cases filed by the accused on various points of law (mainly that the provisions of the PMLA were unconstitutional) will now be proceeded with again. Although the opposition has called the SC order "unfortunate" and has said that the 'misuse' of ED will increase, the fact is that the PMLA is an important law that can be very effective in proceeding against corrupt politicians and others who hide their ill-begotten wealth using various means. The Supreme Court, while issuing a 545-page verdict that examined the provisions of PMLA minutely, has said that "money laundering cannot be said to be less heinous than the offence of terrorism" and that "tainted money breeds discontent in any society and in turn leads to more crime and civil unrest, and thus, the onus on the government and the people to identify and seize such money is heavy."