Petitioners Couldn’t Demand Committal of Case of Scheduled Offence From Special Court to PMLA Court u/s 44 of PMLA | HC
- News|Blog|FEMA & Banking|
- 2 Min Read
- By Taxmann
- |
- Last Updated on 4 October, 2023
Latest from Taxmann
Case Details: Pankajini Sahu v. Joint Director, Enforcement Directorate, Goi - [2023] 154 taxmann.com 60 (HC-Orissa)
Judiciary and Counsel Details
-
- R.K. Pattanaik, J.
- Pratik Dash, Adv. for the Petitioner.
- Bibekananda Nayak, Standing Counsel for the Respondent.
Facts of the Case
In the instant case, an FIR was lodged by the vigilance department against the petitioners under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and the IPC Act. Meanwhile summons under section 50 of the PMLA were issued to the petitioners by the PMLA Court for them to appear.
The petitioner filed an instant petition on the ground that the PMLA Court analogously tried complaint case with a pending case before the Special Judge (Vigilance) under section 13(2) read with section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and section 109 IPC and submitted that the PMLA Authority did not move vigilance Court for committal of the case to the Special Court as required under section 44(1)(c) of the PMLA, 2002
Further, in the absence of such compliance, the proceeding before the PMLA Court and issuance of summons were not as per the law and, therefore, the impugned notices were liable to be quashed with consequential direction for transmission of the record in connection.
It was noted that no application was made by the Competent Authority under the PMLA for committal in the instant case.
High Court Held
The High Court observed that since section 44 of the PMLA does not make it mandatory for the committal of a case of scheduled offences to the PMLA Court, the petitioners could not demand such committal from the file of a Special Judge.
However, the PMLA Court should examine the plea of the petitioners applying its discretion and in the event found to be a fit case for committal might move a Special Judge, for a judicious decision in terms of section 44(1)(c) of the Act.
The High Court held that if an application is moved by a Competent Authority under PMLA after exercising discretion for committal of the case in view of section 44(1)(c) only in appropriate cases and in the interest of justice, in and under such circumstances the Special Court shall have to examine it and take a decision for committal of case to designated Court under PMLA and not otherwise.
List of Cases Referred to
-
- Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India [2022] 140 taxmann.com 610 (SC) (para 5).
Disclaimer: The content/information published on the website is only for general information of the user and shall not be construed as legal advice. While the Taxmann has exercised reasonable efforts to ensure the veracity of information/content published, Taxmann shall be under no liability in any manner whatsoever for incorrect information, if any.
Taxmann Publications has a dedicated in-house Research & Editorial Team. This team consists of a team of Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries, and Lawyers. This team works under the guidance and supervision of editor-in-chief Mr Rakesh Bhargava.
The Research and Editorial Team is responsible for developing reliable and accurate content for the readers. The team follows the six-sigma approach to achieve the benchmark of zero error in its publications and research platforms. The team ensures that the following publication guidelines are thoroughly followed while developing the content:
- The statutory material is obtained only from the authorized and reliable sources
- All the latest developments in the judicial and legislative fields are covered
- Prepare the analytical write-ups on current, controversial, and important issues to help the readers to understand the concept and its implications
- Every content published by Taxmann is complete, accurate and lucid
- All evidence-based statements are supported with proper reference to Section, Circular No., Notification No. or citations
- The golden rules of grammar, style and consistency are thoroughly followed
- Font and size that’s easy to read and remain consistent across all imprint and digital publications are applied
Sign Up
To subscribe to our weekly newsletter please log in/register on Taxmann.com
Latest Books
Everything on Tax and Corporate Laws of India
To subscribe to our weekly newsletter please log in/register on Taxmann.com
