PMLA judgement review: SC adjourns hearing till October 3

New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed October 3 for hearing a batch of petitions seeking 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).

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), requested a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant to adjourn the hearing to allow him more time for preparation.

The request met opposition from senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing on behalf of the review petitioners, as he said that the pleas were repeatedly adjourned at the ED’s instance and he was ready to argue the matter on merits.

In the previous hearing, the special bench, also comprising Justices C.T. Ravikumar and Ujjal Bhuyan, did not assemble due to the non-availability of Justice Ravikumar. 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.

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