SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday, October 18, dismissed quash petitions filed by a Hyderabad couple against Enforcement Directorate notices served on them.
The hearing pertained to a 2021 case probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) involving forgery, cheating, and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act; the court noted that these constituted scheduled offences under the PMLA, thereby allowing the ED to initiate proceedings.
The High Court upheld the power of the ED to summon people under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The court also refused to grant them protection from coercive action. Justice J Sreenivas Rao passed the order recently on a petition filed by Paruchuri Kumar, alias Kanuganti Suresh Kumar, and his wife Pokala Pallavi, alias Paruchuri Pallavi/Kanuganti Pallavi, both engaged in the construction business.
The court said that the agency had the authority and jurisdiction to summon the petitioners and found no illegality or jurisdictional error in the notices issued to them.
The court also observed that the petitioners didn’t provide any material suggesting that the ED lacked evidence or jurisdiction to arrest them. Based on the Supreme Court judgment, the court said Section 50 of the PMLA empowers the ED to summon any person to give evidence or produce records.
Persons so summoned must appear and state the truth, it noted, adding that courts should exercise restraint and rarely interfere at the summons stage.
The High Court also held that the petitioners’ pending one-time settlement application with the State Bank of India, or their willingness to repay the amount, would not curtail the ED’s proceedings.
SOURCE : SIASAT
