SC upholds ED’s right to make arrests

A bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar said the ED should make more information public. It said the shortage of judicial officers dealing with PMLA cases is a serious issue, asking the government to address the problem.

The court further said that the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) cannot be compared with the First Information Report (FIR) and is only an internal document of the ED. Therefore, the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) relating to FIRs will not be applicable to ECIR. Giving ECIR to the accused is not mandatory and disclosure of reasons for arrest is sufficient.

However, when the person is produced in a special court, it may call for records to see whether continued imprisonment is necessary.

The judgment is significant as it deals with issues related to investigative powers, summoning of witnesses, arrest and seizure carried out by the ED and PMLA bail process.

The ruling has set a precedent as to how the ED and other investigative agencies are allowed to act in any existing or future cases. This comes after over 200 petitions challenging the constitutionality of several provisions of the PMLA.

“The judgment provides much needed clarity on prosecution under PMLA, linking it to the major criminal activity that led to prosecution under PMLA. The decision clarifies that if the main criminal case falls, then no prosecution for money laundering can be made. However, should the arrest take place during the course of the investigation, securing bail will be a daunting task, as the Supreme Court has upheld the resumption of stringent tests to secure the bail provided under PMLA.”, said Anuj Berry, Partner White-collar crime practice in controversy and trilegal.

Gauri Rasgotra, Partner and Delhi Head at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, said, “On the issue of bail, the court has completely set aside the earlier Supreme Court judgment which explicitly declared twin conditions for bail. Being unconstitutional is violative of Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution. Therefore, the limit for bail as well as anticipatory bail will have to undergo double tests as prescribed in the new amendment. The court has further said that prima facie the duty of the court is not to weigh the evidence carefully, but to arrive at a conclusion based on the widest probabilities. His hands will be strong.”

Some of the high-profile PMLA cases before the Supreme Court include the INX Media investigation of Karti Chidambaram, corruption charges against former Akali minister Sarwan Phillaur and his son, the e-tender scam in Madhya Pradesh and money laundering against diamond trader Ritesh Jain. allegations are included. and other businessmen.

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