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TMI Blog2019 (8) TMI 130X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at a control area be provided outside the Pharma City prohibiting residential areas and polluting industries upto a distance of 1kilometre. The same is evidenced by the letter dated 12.02.2004 written by APIIC to the Vice Chairman VUDA requesting him not to give permissions for any residential layouts around the pharma City. Ramky shall maintain 50 mts. inward as buffer zone inside the pharma till the disputes is finally decided by the Special Court. The attachment in this regard shall continue unless it is vacated by the Special Court. The remaining all attached properties are released forthwith. Burden of proof - HELD THAT:- Unless the charges are framed with the offence of money laundering under Section-3 of the Act, the burden of proof shall remain lies with the respondent to prove that the concerned parties are involved with the offence of money laundering in order to invoke Section-3 of the Act if the properties were acquired from the proceed of crime. This Tribunal is of the opinion that there are many issues raised by the appellants either to have been ignored or not decided as per law. Thus, appeals are partly allowed by modifying both impugned orders until the fi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh vide its Order dated 10.08.2011, passed in Writ Petition Nos.794 6604 of 2011, directed CBI for registration of the case and for thorough investigation in all the aspects of financial misdeeds involving huge magnitude of government largesse, corporate dealings including huge investments as part of Quid Pro Quo arrangements for the largesse and the benefit obtained by the investors from the State of Andhra Pradesh and also in all other aspects. 7. In view of said Order dated 10.08.2011 of the Hon ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad, in Writ Petition Nos.794 6604 of 2011, Central Bureau of Investigation, ACB, Hyderabad, registered a case vide RC.19(A)/2011-CBI-HYD on 17.08.2011 under Section 120-B, read with Section 420, Section 409 Section 477-A of Indian Penal Code, 1860 Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(c) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Shri Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the then Member of Parliament, Kadapa and 73 Others. 8. CBI did not file charge sheets against all the persons / entities indicated in the FIR dated 17.08.2011, CBI, Hyderabad filed a Memo dated 23.09.2013 before the Special Judge for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ghout the circumference inside the Pharma City. The following are the decisions of Y S Rajsekhara Reddy, the then CM of AP taken in the meeting. S. No. Details DECISION ON RPCIL S GREEN BELT/BUFFER ZONE/NO DEVELOPMENT ZONE MATTER DURING CM S MEETINGS 11-09-04 20-06-05 23-11-05 22-01-08 1. Decisions on Pharma City 500 Mts. or 1 Km 250 Mts. inside and 250 Mts. outside 50 Mts. Inside and 250 Mts. Outside 500 Mts. outside 2. Members present during meeting Y S Rajsekhar a Reddy, CM 1. Y S Rajsekhara Redddy, 2. G. VenkatramRedd y, VC, VUDA 3. Sri S P Singh, IAS, Secretary of MA UD Dept. 1. Y S Rajsekhara Redddy, CM 2. G. VenkatramRedd y, VC, VUDA 3. A. Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Chairman, Dr. K.S.M. Rao, MD and P Eswar Reddy, CEO of RPCIL. 4. S P Singh, IAS, Secretary of MA UD Dept. 5. K V V Sathi Reddy, CE, APIIC. Y S Ra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 6 15 140.496 TOTAL 8 83.815 23 205.119 31 288.934 F. It was also alleged that Ramky Group has invested ₹ 10 crores in M/s. Jagathi Publications Ltd. against the above said wrongful gain received by them in the form of decreasing the green belt area. Investigation under PMLA 12. On the basis of allegations, it was the case of respondent no. 1 that the RPCIL of Ramky Group, was unduly benefitted by decision taken by Sri. Y.S. Rajsekhara Reddy under the influence of his son Sri Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in allowing reducing of green belt area inside the Pharma City from 250 Mts. to 50 Mts. RPCIL has been benefited with 914 acres inside the Pharma City by reducing the green belt area to 50 Mts. Out of this 914 acres, 627 acres was converted/developed into industrial plots offered for sale and the remaining land of 287 acres consisted roads, water bodies and open area etc. which was not converted to plots and cannot be sold. Therefore, the land of 287 acres was not considered as PoC ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the said PAO. Therefore the said value of ₹ 64.98 Crores, being value of these plots, is considered as proceeds of crime in the present PAO. In addition to the above, the remaining land of 19.07 Acres (out of 77.875 Acres), is available as Plot No. 46 with RPCIL. Thus, the Proceeds of Crime are summarized as; i. ₹ 64.98 Crores related to 58.805 Acres of the above said land. ii. Plot No. 46 admeasuring 19.07 Acres of the remaining land. iii. ₹ 36,31,72,881/- related to the sale proceeds of 9 plots sold {of 70.563 Acres} and iv. 15 Industrial Plots comprising of 140.496 Acres, in which sale transactions are incomplete and are still in the possession of RPCIL. Thus, open land of 16 Plots admeasuring 159.566 Acres {149.496 Acres + 19.07 Acres} available with RPCIL and ₹ 101,29,72,881/- {₹ 64.98 Crores + ₹ 36,31,72,881/-} are considered as Proceeds of Crime as per the definition of Proceeds of Crime under Section 2(1)(u) of PMLA, 2002. Identification of Proceeds of Crime:- a. As per the details provided by Sri PP Lal Kishan, CEO of RPCIL, 16 Nos. Unsold Plots admeasuring 159.566 Acres vide Plot No s 46, 33B, 39A, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Lemarthi 37.379 ₹ 1000/- ₹ 18,09,14,360 5 Thadi 23.394 ₹ 1100/- ₹ 12,45,49,656 TOTAL 176.303 ₹ 96,59,83,656 iv. As plots No. 45 56 comprising of 18.985 Acres of land valued at ₹ 22.782 Crores and remaining value of ₹ 7.61 Crores pertaining to Plot No. 83 is already considered as equivalent value of proceeds of crime as discussed above, only properties worth of ₹ 70,90,52,881/- were identified further, from the above, with regard to the proceeds of crime of ₹ 101,29,72,881/- specified in para 13.2 above. It is case of the respondent that the amount collected by the sale of plots in Non-SEZ area and leasing of plots in SEZ area, which are falling under green belt areas, are thus the proceeds of crime, which is generated illegally and acquired as detailed above, by committing offences under Section 120-B and 420 of IPC. Hence the Proceeds of Crime as defined in Section 2(1)(u) of PMLA, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... invested into JPPL Order OC. No. 172/2012 dated 06.06.2013. ii. Provisional Attachment Order No. 06/2015 dated 26.03.2015, for an amount of ₹ 212.45 crores (including 16 unsold plots which are in the possession of RPCIL) was issued and the same was confirmed by the Hon ble Adjudicating Authority vide Order OC. No. 441/2015 dated 04.08.2015. (Possession of the properties were already taken) 15. The respondent no. 1 on the basis of above, attached the following movable and immovable properties. (A) In first O.C.-172/2013, the following properties were confirmed as per impugned order 6.6.2013 Sl. No. Details of the asset/property Owner of the asset/property Amount involved 1 Fixed deposits in the name of M/s Jagati Publications Ltd held in Oriental Bank of Commerce, Hyderabad (branch at Road No. 63, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad- 33) M/s Jagati Publications Pvt. Ltd. The FDR amount attached is limited to ₹ 10 Cr. Out of the FDRs held by M/s Jagati Publications Ltd. 2. Plot No. 42, 43, 54, 72 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 16. In the second O.C. 441/2015, the following properties were confirmed by the impugned order:- S. No. Property Details Property in the Name of Value of the Property 1 16 Nos. Unsold admeasuring 159.566 Acres vide Plot No s 46, 33B, 39A, 57, 70-Part, 71, 84, 85 130A in Non-SEZ Area; Plot No s 91, 93, 110 111 Part, 112 Part, 113, 128, 128 Part and 129 in SEZ area; without JNPC M/s Ramky Pharma City India Ltd., Hyderabad ₹ 114,88,75,200 2 Plot No. 56 of area 9.85 Acres and Plot No. 45 of area 9.135 Acres totaling to 18.985 Acres in Non-SEZ area within JNPC M/s Ramky Pharma City India Ltd., Hyderabad ₹ 22,78,20,000 3 Balance amount in Plot No. 83 in Non-SEZ ara of 34.43 Acres which was attached vide PAO No. 01/2013 M/s Ramky Pharma City India Ltd., Hyderabad ₹ 7,61,00,000 4 73.648 Acres of land vide OP-19 to 40 in Sy. No. s Parts of 183, 54, 178, 175, 1 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... granted in principle clearance approval for the proposal of establishing a Pharma City at IDA, Parawada, Visakhapatnam Distt. 31.10.2002 APIIC issued a notification publicizing a Global Invitation for Expression of Interest (EOI) for development of Industrial Park at Parawada, Visakhapatnam Distt. The area of the proposed Pharma City was specified as being over 865 Hectares , equivalent to 2162.5 Acres. 17.12.2002 Newspaper publication inviting Expression of Interest published in Financial Express and Economic Times. L T RAMBOLL appointed as a Consultant by APIIC for submitting a Project Report and preparing a tentative Master Plan for Pharma City to enable APIIC to obtain requisite statutory approvals. L T RAMBOLL conducted a detailed study and submitted a Report titled Techno Economic Feasibility and Development of Pharma City at Parawada along with the Master Plan. L T RAMBOLL also prepared a detailed Request for Proposal ( RFP ) for and on behalf of APIIC which contained the envisaged Plan and land use pattern for Pharma City. As per master plan forming part of the detailed project report, out of the total area of 2119 Acres, an extent of 363.71 Acres ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... plantations as they were facing opposition from land owners. Thus, a suggestion was mooted that the buffer zone be limited to 500 mts, out of which 250 mts. will be within the Pharma City all along the boundary and the remaining 250 mts. will be in the adjoining lands. The said suggestion was contrary to the stipulations contained in the Concession Agreement in as much as the Concession Agreement did not contemplate maintenance of any such buffer zone and was also contrary to recommendations of the APPCB and Supreme Court Monitoring Committee. Representatives of Ramky and APIIC were not present in the Meeting. The suggestions mooted in the Meeting did not fructify into any decision made by the Government as evidently, there were inherent fallacies in the suggestions made in the Meeting. 21.07.2005 Letter from APIIC to GoAP informing that development of green belt inside Pharma City as per MLA GandiBabji s suggestion would not be possible in light of the land use pattern agreed upon for the Pharma City. 10.08.2005 Letter from APPCB to VUDA informing that a No Development Zone of 500m outside Pharma City was required to be marked while finalizing the VUDA Master Plan. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng the buffer zone (BZ) it must be delineated to be 250mts outward and 250mts inward perimeter. Government Municipal Administration APIIC explained why the buffer zone has to be outside only and not inside. 21. It is submitted on behalf of the respondent that as restriction of 50 mts. inwards is a reduction from 250 mts suggested at 20.06.2005 meeting arranged in order to give the benefit to Ramky. The case of the Respondent is that the Ramky was aware about the said first meeting. The second meeting was arranged in order to get the benefit from reduction from 250 mts. to 50 mts. 22. On 23.11.2005, a coordinated meeting of all concerned persons was conducted wherein it was finally decided that BZ would extend 200 outwards and 50mts inwards from the perimeter of the Pharma City. On account of this decision rather Ramky was subjected to a restriction of not using 50mts inwards which was beyond provided in the concession agreement. It is the case of the appellants that, in fact, it is Ramky who suffered a loss rather than benefiting under such stipulations. 23. It is submitted on behalf of Ramky that the requirement of a Green Buffer/ area is 352.31 Acres, who is already ma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d circulation into effect. Sakshi regional newspaper was launched with a circulation of about 12 lakh copies with 23 printing centers simultaneously in States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, New Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. (b) The valuation of Jagati Publications shares is based on Discounted Cash Flow Method (DCF, which has been approved by the Reserve Bank of India under Foreign Exchange Management Act Notification number FEMA 205/2010 issued on 07.04.2010) which is a futuristic valuation technique for valuing a company even before the commencement of its operations. (c) The total of 60 investors (including Mr. Nimagadda Prasad and his group companies) had purchased Appellant s shares at ₹ 360 per share with a premium of ₹ 350 per share. Therefore, singling out one certain business transaction/ investment only to accuse the same as quid pro quo without any basis would be arbitrary and illegal. (d) The attachments at the hands of Jagati Publications are wholly unnecessary as the Orders of the Hon ble High Court at Hyderabad dated 23.05.2012 made in CrLP No. 4523 of 2012 restrain the alienation of any assets of the company while taking into ac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Chief Minister, in the presence of representatives of Ramky and officials of APIIC that maintaining of 250 Mts is not feasible. Then, CM reconsiders the above decision and reduces the said 250 Mts to 50 Mts for maintaining of green belt, which is the overall requirement of green belt area as per Bid Document/ Proposal/Detailed Project Report. 32. On 13.12.2007, final layout was granted by APIIC with the acreage and land use pattern as follows: SL.No. Details of Land Allotment for 2143 Acrs Acres Acres 1. Plotted Area 1481.06 2. Industrial Plots 1429.21 3. Non- Processing Area 0004.75 4. Commercial Hub and Service Area 0047.00 5. Roads 0207.12 6. Green Buffer 0352.31 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r arising from the same ECIR, the ED has sought to attach properties which are designated as value equivalent to the proceeds of crime at the acquisition value and not the guideline value. 38. Therefore, it is alleged on behalf of the appellants that the Provisional Attachment Order as well as the impugned order are contrary to materials available on record, thus, the same are not sustainable. 39. M/s. Jagati Publications was incorporated on 14.11.2006 as private limited company and subsequently became a public limited company from 12.01.2009. It is their case that all the investments made in Jagati Publications are genuine business transactions by the investors or not, however it has come on record that such investment being held in form of share. 40. The valuation of Jagati Publications shares were arrived after taking the entire enterprise valuation of Sakshi News Paper Project with size and circulation into effect. Sakshi regional newspaper was launched with a circulation of about 12 lakh copies with 23 printing centers simultaneously in States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, New Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. The valuation of Jagati Publication ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... der to come to know as to whether there was any provision for buffer zone inside the pharma for 250 mts. The same was not produced for the said relevant period, IO has informed that there was no master plan for maintaining the buffer zone in the city for better zone for 500 mts, 250 mts inside the premises at the relevant point of time. On behalf of the appellants, it is submitted that as documents/material available on record, it would show that Ramky was/is maintaining the 50 mts buffer zone. 47. Ramky has no relation or business relation directly or indirectly with Jagati Publication, Jagan Mohan Reddy or his late father. The amount, a sum of rupees ten crores paid for purchasing the land was not tainted money, even the said fact has not been denied by the counsel for the respondent. The case of the appellants is that the said amount was invested by its group companies towards purchase of shares. It was done in order to earn profit in the company who is progressive in nature. 48. It is also a matter of record that the RAMKY Group even prior to taking up the Pharma City Project was an already established group. They have developed India s first integrated hazardous waste fa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o a distance of 1kilometre. The same is evidenced by the letter dated 12.02.2004 written by APIIC to the Vice Chairman VUDA requesting him not to give permissions for any residential layouts around the pharma City. 52. Burden of Proof Sec. 24 : Burden of Proof - In any proceeding relating to proceeds of crime under this Act,- (a) In the case of a person charged with the offence of money-laundering under section 3, the Authority or Court shall, unless the contrary is proved, presume that such proceeds of crime are involved in money-laundering; and (b) In the case of any other person the Authority or Court, may presume that such proceeds of crime are involved in money-laundering. 53. Sec. 24(a) - the expression in the said provision of Sec. 24(a) person charged with means that charges are framed against the person concerned. There is a difference between the framing of charge-sheet and filing of charge-sheet. When the charges are framed by the court, it can be presumed that judicial mind has been applied after having gone through the allegations and material placed on record. The case of the respondent always been that once the allegations of money launder ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... TF and all countries have obliged to bring their laws on the same lines. I just want to point to some of my friends that this Bill was passed in 2002. In 2002, we felt that these provisions are sufficient. In the working of the law, we found that the provisions have certain problems. We amended it in 2005. We amended it in 2009. We still find that there are some problems. The FATF has pointed out some problems. And, we are amending it in 2012. It is not finding fault with anyone. All I am trying to say is that this is an evolutionary process. Laws will evolve in this way, and we are amending it again in 2012. A few questions were raised. These are very pertinent questions and I will answer them very briefly. Firstly, both, Mr. Satish Chandra Misra and Mr. N.K. Singh, asked me about the burden of proof and whether we have, in effect, given acceptance to the recommendations of the Standing Committee that we have made a distinction in the burden of proof so that it does not fall heavily on persons who are not charged with offence of money-laundering. If you look at the original section in the parent Act, section 24, when a person is accused of having committed the offence, the bu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f India and Others Versus Martin Lottery Agencies Limited reported in (2009) 12 Supreme Court Cases 209 in para 38, it is held as under:- There cannot be any doubt whatsoever that speech of the Hon'ble Finance Minister in the House of the Parliament may be taken to be a valid tool for interpretation of a statute. It was so held in K.P. Varghese v. Commissioner of Income-tax, Ernakulam Anr. [(1981) 4 SCC 173 at 184], in the following terms : Now it is true that the speeches made by the Members of the Legislature on the floor of the House when a Bill for enacting a statutory provision is being debated are inadmissible for the purpose of interpreting the statutory provision but the speech made by the Mover of the Bill explaining the reason for the introduction of the Bill can certainly be referred to for the purpose of ascertaining the mischief sought to be remedied by the legislation and the object and purpose for which the legislation is enacted. This is in accord with the recent trend in juristic thought not only in western countries but also in India that interpretation of a statute being an exercise in the ascertainment of meaning, everything which is logically ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... highly convenient to refer both to the former Act and to the ascertained evils to which the former Act had given rise, and to the later Act which provided the remedy. These three being A compared I cannot doubt the conclusion. This Rule being a Rule of construction has been repeatedly applied in India in interpreting statutory provisions. It would therefore be legitimate in interpreting sub-section (2) to consider that was the mischief and defect for which section 52 as it then stood did not provide and which was sought to be remedied by the enactment of sub-section (2) or in other words, what was the object and purpose of enacting that sub-section. Now in this connection the speech made by the Finance Minister while moving the amendment introducing sub-section (2) is extremely relevant, as it throws considerable light on the object and purpose of the enactment or sub-section (2). The Finance Minister explained the reason for introducing sub-section (2) in the following words: Today, particularly every transaction of the sale of property is for a much lower figure than what is actually received. The deed of registration mentions a particular amount; the actual money t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eived for the transfer was 'considerably more' than that declared or shown by the assessee, but which were not covered by sub- section (1) because the transferee was not directly or indirectly connected with the assessee. The object and purpose of sub-section (2), as explicated from the speech of the Finance Minister, was not to strike at honest and bonafide transactions where the consideration for the transfer was correctly 13: disclosed by the assessee but to bring within the net of taxation those transactions where the consideration in respect of the transfer was shown at a lesser figure than that actually received by the assessee, so that they do not escape the charge of tax on capital gains by under-statement of the consideration. This was real object and purpose of the enactment of sub-section (2) and the interpretation of this sub-section must fall in line with the advancement of that object and purpose. We must therefore accept as the underlying assumption of sub-section (2) that there is understatement of consideration in respect of the transfer and sub-section (2) applies only where the actual consideration received by the assessee is not disclosed and the conside ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . 62. In the present set of appeals, the respondent has failed to discharge its burden as there is no valid independent investigation under PMLA. Merely on the basis of allegations of CBI in the charge-sheet, the provisional attachment was passed. Valid reasons to believe were not recorded. It is not even prima facie established as to whether ₹ 10 crores were bribe amount or it is the price of shares. Only on the basis of apprehension and presumption, the properties were attached. 63. The allegations of bribe and cheating and other offences raised by CBI are yet to be tested by law in court. There is no denial that the Ramky has not made the investment directly. It was made by group companies of Ramky against the purchase of shares. Prima facie, there is no material on record to show that impugned properties were acquired by Ramky from the tainted amount. There is not an iota of evidence that at point of time, the Ramky has got tainted amount. There is valid finding as per law by the respondent and Adjudicating Authority about the Concession Agreement. Most of the relevant clauses have been ignored and legally decided. 64. It is the admitted position that the Pharma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ective operation, unless its language is such as plainly to require such a construction. And the same rule involves another and subordinate rule, to the effect that a statute is not to be construed so as to have a greater retrospective operation than Us language renders necessary. It is stated that it is well recognized rule that statutes should be interpreted, if possible, so as to respect vested rights, but such a construction should never be adopted if the words are open to another construction. It is also stated that if a statute be ambiguous, the Court should lean to the interpretation which would support existing rights. 69. In the Queen v. The Inhabitants of St. Mary, Whitechapel (1848) 12 QB 120, the Court pointed out that The Statue which in its direct operation of prospective cannot be properly called a retrospective statute because a part of the requisites for that action is drawn from the time antecedent to its passing . 70. The fundamental rule of interpretation of statutes. Following case laws are cited:- a) Monnet Ispat and Energy Limited Versus Union of India and Others (2012) 11 SCC at page 90 paras 153 154 held that: 153. Having carefully consi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ovision in the statute or is otherwise discernible by necessary implication. b) Keshavan Madhava Menon Versus State of Bombay, AIR 1951 SC 128 para 7 [7 Judge Bench of Hon ble Supreme Court] 7. . Every statute is prima facie prospective unless it is expressly or by necessary implications made to have retrospective operation. .. c) Mahadeolal Kanodia Versus Administrator, General of West Bengal, AIR 1960 SC 936 para 8 [3 Judge Bench of Hon ble Supreme Court], held that: 8. The principles that have to be applied for interpretation of statutory provisions of this nature are well-established. The first of these is that statutory provisions creating substantive rights or taking away substantive rights are ordinarily prospective; they are retrospective only if by express words or by necessary implication the legislature has made them retrospective; and the retrospective operation will be limited only to the extent to which it has been so made by express words, or necessary implication. The second rule is that the intention of the legislature has always to be gat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ely and there is a presumption against their retrospectivity if they affect vested rights and obligations unless the legislative intent is clear and compulsive. Such retrospective effect may be given where there are express words giving retrospective effect or where the language used necessarily implies that such retrospective operation is intended. Hence, the question whether a statutory provision has retrospective effect or not depends primarily on the language in which it is couched. If the language is clear and unambiguous effect will have to be given to the provision in question in accordance with its. (32) It would appear from the case law considered above that the rule of construction or interpretation is very well settled and well established that laws generally are prospective in character more particularly, law affecting vested or substantive rights or laws creating new liabilities or imposing new disabilities, unless there are express words in the statute affecting the existing rights of unless there is clear manifestation of the intention of the Legislative on the basis of which it can be said that the law is retrospective in character, and even vested rights ha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e amendment, the attachment of a property will cease to have effect, the moment the persons concerned are acquitted on conclusion of trial for any scheduled offence. But after the amendment, the conviction of a person for a scheduled offence has no nexus to the confiscation of the property. What is now important is to see whether the Special Court finds the commission of an offence of money laundering or not. 70. The contention of Mr. S. Ravi, learned senior counsel for the petitioner is that the petitioner company was not even implicated as an accused in the criminal case. All the accused, who were individuals and who were at the helm of affairs of the petitioner company, were prosecuted and they were convicted by the Special Court by a judgement dated 09-04-2015. Since the charge sheets filed prior to the amendment and since the petitioner was not one of the accused, the amendment to Section 8(5) will not apply to the case of the petitioner. That vested rights cannot be taken away by retrospective application of the law (especially quasi criminal) is too well settled. A useful reference may be made in this regard to the judgements of the Supreme Court in STO v. Oriental C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o have been ignored or not decided as per law. Thus, appeals are partly allowed by modifying both impugned orders until the final decision is given by the Special Court on merit or the charge-sheet is quashed by the court prior to start of trial or otherwise. 75. In the light of afore-said reasons, the following directions are passed pertaining to Ramky by modifying the impugned orders dated 07.01.2013 and 08.08.2015 as well as the provisional attachment order:- (i) Ramky shall maintain 50 mts. inward as buffer zone inside the pharma till the disputes is finally decided by the Special Court. The attachment in this regard shall continue unless it is vacated by the Special Court. The remaining all attached properties are released forthwith. (ii) Ramky shall not dispose of and sell buffer-zone area nor raise any construction thereon, unless final order is passed in its favour. (iii) The possession of 16 unsold plots be restored by the respondent forthwith i.e. to Ramky (which were attached by way of Provisional Attachment Order no. 6/2015 for an amount of ₹ 212.45 Crores and confirmation thereto by the impugned order dated 04.08.2015 in OC-441/2015). However, it is d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... obstruct the decree. 80. The provisions of Section 5 and 8 of PMLA are not exactly similar but principles and intend to incorporate the said provision to some are the guiding factors. The impugned order has been passed without application of mind. All issues raised by the appellants have not been considered or decided. It was merely one-sided approach without going through the material available on record. 81. In view of the above, the appeals filed by Jagati Publication Ltd. are partly allowed. The attachment of FDR for the sum of Rupees ten crores shall stand released, subject to the condition that the appellant shall furnish the Indemnity Bond as surety for the same amount with an undertaking that if the final order is passed against the Jagati, the appellant shall deposit the said amount immediately with the respondent. The said direction is passed without prejudice. 82. As far as allegations of CBI are concerned, this Tribunal does not wish to express any opinion on merit and the same have to be considered as per law. The present order has been passed only for the purpose of attachment of properties and confirmation thereof. 83. All the appeals and pending applicat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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