9911796707
TMI Blog2021 (2) TMI 620X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ations and Corporate Consultants (P) Ltd., Lexicon PR Management Services (P) Ltd., as also in an advertising company called FS Advertising Ltd. 3. The Petitioner raises a challenge in the present petition to the Provisional Attachment Order (hereinafter 'PAO') dated 22nd January, 2021 by which her bank accounts, immovable property and shares etc. have been provisionally attached by the Enforcement Directorate (hereinafter, 'ED') on the suspicion that these amounts are proceeds of crime and were used to make unauthorised payments for obtaining the coal blocks allocation. 4. A perusal of the PAO dated 22nd January, 2021 shows that the allegation in the PAO is that the Petitioner and her earlier employees have all made contradictory stateme ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ited v. Axis Bank & Ors., [Criminal Appeal No. 102/2021, decided on 3rd February, 2021] was later on brought to the notice of the Court in an unconnected matter, in order to consider the impact of the said judgment on the present case, this Court deemed it appropriate to hear submissions of ld. Counsels in light of the said judgment. The order passed was kept on hold and the matter was adjourned to enable counsels to make submissions. 8. Thereafter, today, counsels for the parties have been heard once again. Mr. Amit Mahajan, ld. CGSC and Mr. Asheesh Jain, ld. Counsel have pointed out that there is a subsequent PAO which has now been passed by the ED on 8th February, 2021. Vide this PAO, the ED has again modified the attachment to the foll ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r PAOs to be issued under Section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (hereinafter, 'PMLA, 2002'). The relevant portions of the judgment are set out herein below: "11. The scheme of the PMLA is well intended. While it seeks to achieve the object of preventing money laundering and bring to book the offenders, it also safeguards the rights of the persons who would be proceeded against under the Act by ensuring fairness in procedure. Hence a procedure, including timeline is provided so as to ensure that power is exercised for the purpose to which the officer is vested with such power and the Adjudicating Authority is also kept in the loop. In the instant case, the procedure contemplated under Section 17 of PMLA to which referen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ian grounds i.e., that her entire life savings have in effect been frozen and she is even unable to pay her medical bills and undertake her day-to-day expenses. The allegations against her in the PAOs date back to the time when she was a PR professional i.e., sometime between 2007-08 to 2015 when the FIR was lodged. 12. The allegation in the FIR is that the company M/s. AES Chhattisgarh Energy Private Ltd had received FDI from its Principal in the USA of Rs. 49.24 crores out of which Rs. 5.60 crores was disbursed to Lexicon Public Relations and Corporate Consultants (P) Ltd., for allegedly obtaining assistance in approvals/authorisations. The PAO concludes: "Accordingly, the interpretational connotations regarding existence of ulterior m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... letely frozen appears completely unjustified, especially when the allegations against the Petitioner are merely in the realm of speculation, at this stage. The letter dated 22nd January 2021 issued to M/s. Centrum attached the Petitioner's entire deposits to the tune of Rs. 6 crores. Coupled with the assets attached in the PAO, the total assets attached are cumulatively worth 9,23,51,787/- crores, when admittedly, even as per the ED's own case, the total amount received by M/s. Centrum from M/s. AES Chhattisgarh Energy Private Ltd is only Rs. 5.60 crores. Some opportunity ought to have been granted to the Petitioner before passing orders attaching all her accounts and deposits. Attaching all her assets was totally unwarranted. 15. Keeping ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
