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TMI Blog2024 (3) TMI 188X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... isition or use or projecting it as untainted property or claiming it as untainted property in any manner whatsoever. In the judgment rendered by the Hon ble Apex Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary and Ors. Vs. Union of India and Ors. [ 2022 (7) TMI 1316 - SUPREME COURT] as under paragraph- 284, it has been held that the Authority under the 2002 Act, is to prosecute a person for offence of money-laundering only if it has reason to believe, which is required to be recorded in writing that the person is in possession of proceeds of crime . Only if that belief is further supported by tangible and credible evidence indicative of involvement of the person concerned in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime, action under the Act can be taken forward for attachment and confiscation of proceeds of crime and until vesting thereof in the Central Government, such process initiated would be a standalone process. It is alleged that cessation of Dilip Kumar Ghosh from the directorship from the above companies of the Agarwal group was thoughtful move driven by a deliberate and the conspiracy between Amit Kumar Agarwal and Dilip Kumar Ghosh to project Dilip Kumar Ghosh as a sep ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ferent role committed by Dilip Kumar Ghosh, the accused person who has been granted bail and comparing his accountability with the act of the present petitioner, is of the view that it cannot be said that what has been done by Dilip Kumar Ghosh is identical to the case of the present petitioner as it would be evident from the discussion made in the preceding paragraphs as also by going through the counter affidavit that the said company, i.e., M/s Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd. is completely under the control of Amit Kumar Agarwal - It is, thus, evident that so far as the case of the present petitioner is concerned, the twin condition as provided under Section 45(1) of the Act, 2002 is not being fulfilled so as to grant the privilege of bail to the present petitioner. Even on the ground of parity, the same on the basis of the role/involvement of the present petitioner in the commission of crime in comparison to that of the said Dilip Kumar Ghosh is quite different. This Court is of the view that the present application is fit to be dismissed - the instant application stands dismissed. - HON BLE MR. JUSTICE SUJIT NARAYAN PRASAD For the Petitioner : Mr. S. Nagamuthu, Sr. Advocate ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ll as Registrar of Assurances, Kolkata transpires that documents have been tempered to create fictitious onus of the above properties. The Enforcement Directorate upon completion of investigation filed the prosecution complaint under section 45 read with 44 of PML Act being ECIR Case no. 01/2023 against the present petitioner and consequently. the trial court vide order dated 19.06.2023 has taken the cognizance of the aforesaid offence. The present petitioner has been arrested on 07.06.2023 under section 19 of PML, Act 2002 accordingly the petitioner had preferred the Misc. Cri. Application No. 1915 of 2023 for grant of his bail but the same was dismissed vide order dated 07.07.2023 by the AJC-I-Cum Special Judge, CBI-Cum- Special Judge under PMLA at Ranchi. Hence the present petition has been preferred for the grant of bail. Argument on behalf of the learned counsel for the petitioner: 3. Mr. S. Nagamuthu, learned senior counsel for the petitioner has argued inter alia on the following grounds: i. The condition as stipulated under Section 19(1) of the Act, 2002 has not been complied with. ii. If the entire ECIR will be taken into consideration, there is no reason to believe which ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... same is also not having substance in view of the fact that the twin conditions, i.e., the Public Prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the application for such release; and where the Public Prosecutor opposes the application, the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail, is well been found to be fulfilled if the entire ECIR along with the conduct of the petitioner will be taken into consideration. (vi) So far as the principle of parity is concerned on the ground that one co- accused, namely, Dilip Kumar Ghosh has been granted bail by the co- ordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 28.11.2023 passed in B.A. No. 7233 of 2023, the case of the said Dilip Kumar Ghosh is entirely on different ground since as would be evident from the ECIR that the Dilip Kumar Ghosh was working under the dictate of Amit Agarwal, the petitioner herein, who is the beneficiary and owner of M/s Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd., therefore, the fact of the case of the petitioner is different to that of the fact of the said Dilip Kumar Ghosh, the co-accused, hence, the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... desired changes. STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS It is being realised, world over, that money-laundering poses a serious threat not only to the financial systems of countries, but also to their integrity and sovereignty. Some of the initiatives taken by the international community to obviate such threat are outlined below: (a) the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, to which India is a party, calls for prevention of laundering of proceeds of drug crimes and other connected activities and confiscation of proceeds derived from such offence. (b) the Basle Statement of Principles, enunciated in 1989, outlined basic policies and procedures that banks should follow in order to assist the law enforcement agencies in tackling the problem of money- laundering. (c) the Financial Action Task Force established at the summit of seven major industrial nations, held in Paris from 14th to 16th July, 1989, to examine the problem of money-laundering has made forty recommendations, which provide the foundation material for comprehensive legislation to combat the problem of money- laundering. The recommendations were classified under vario ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ivity relating to a scheduled offence or the value of any such property or where such property is taken or held outside the country, then the property equivalent in value held within the country or abroad. In the explanation it has been referred that for the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that proceeds of crime include property not only derived or obtained from the scheduled offence but also any property which may directly or indirectly be derived or obtained as a result of any criminal activity relatable to the scheduled offence. The aforesaid explanation has been inserted in the statute book by way of Act 23 of 2019. 12. It is, thus, evident that the reason for giving explanation under Section 2(1)(u) is by way of clarification to the effect that whether as per the substantive provision of Section 2(1)(u), the property derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, by any person as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence or the value of any such property or where such property is taken or held outside the country but by way of explanation the proceeds of crime has been given broader implication by including property not only derived or obtained from ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s till such time a person is directly or indirectly enjoying the proceeds of crime by its concealment or possession or acquisition or use or projecting it as untainted property or claiming it as untainted property in any manner whatsoever.] 17. It is evident from the aforesaid provision that offence of money-laundering means whosoever directly or indirectly attempts to indulge or knowingly assists or knowingly is a party or is actually involved in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime including its concealment, possession, acquisition or use and projecting or claiming it as untainted property shall be guilty of offence of money-laundering. 18. It is further evident that the process or activity connected with proceeds of crime is a continuing activity and continues till such time a person is directly or indirectly enjoying the proceeds of crime by its concealment or possession or acquisition or use or projecting it as untainted property or claiming it as untainted property in any manner whatsoever. 19. The punishment for money laundering has been provided under Section 4 of the Act, 2002. 20. Section 50 of the Act, 2002 confers power upon the authorities regar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the Hon ble Supreme Court have decided the issue by taking into consideration the object and intent of the Act, 2002. The definition of proceeds of crime as under paragraph-251. 22. The interpretation of the condition which is to be fulfilled while arresting the person involved in the predicate offence has been made as would appear from paragraph-265. For ready reference, relevant paragraphs are being referred as under: 265. To put it differently, the section as it stood prior to 2019 had itself incorporated the expression including , which is indicative of reference made to the different process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime. Thus, the principal provision (as also the Explanation) predicates that if a person is found to be directly or indirectly involved in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime must be held guilty of offence of money- laundering. If the interpretation set forth by the petitioners was to be accepted, it would follow that it is only upon projecting or claiming the property in question as untainted property, the offence would be complete. This would undermine the efficacy of the legislative intent behind Section 3 of the Ac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Court under the 1908 Code while trying a suit in respect of matters specified in sub-section (1). This is in reference to Section 13 of the 2002 Act dealing with powers of Director to impose fine in respect of acts of commission and omission by the banking companies, financial institutions and intermediaries. From the setting in which Section 50 has been placed and the expanse of empowering the Director with same powers as are vested in a civil Court for the purposes of imposing fine under Section 13, is obviously very specific and not otherwise. 425. Indeed, sub-section (2) of Section 50 enables the Director, Additional Director, Joint Director, Deputy Director or Assistant Director to issue summon to any person whose attendance he considers necessary for giving evidence or to produce any records during the course of any investigation or proceeding under this Act. We have already highlighted the width of expression proceeding in the earlier part of this judgment and held that it applies to proceeding before the Adjudicating Authority or the Special Court, as the case may be. Nevertheless, sub-section (2) empowers the authorised officials to issue summon to any person. We fail to u ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing intelligible gestures as in the case of a dumb witness (See section 119 of the Evidence Act) or the like. To be a witness is nothing more than to furnish evidence , and such evidence can be furnished through the lips or by production of a thing or of a document or in other modes. So far as production of documents is concerned, no doubt Section 139 of the Evidence Act says that a person producing a document on summons is not a witness. But that section is meant to regulate the right of cross- examination. It is not a guide to the connotation of the word witness , which must be understood in its natural sense, i.e., as referring to a person who furnishes evidence. Indeed, every positive volitional act which furnishes evidence is testimony, and testimonial compulsion connotes coercion which procures the positive volitional evidentiary acts of the person, as opposed to the negative attitude of silence or submission on his part. Nor is there any reason to think that the protection in respect of the evidence so procured is confined to what transpires at the trial in the court room. The phrase used in article 20(3) is to be a witness and not to appear as a witness . It follows that th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... icials. However, after further inquiry on the basis of other material and evidence, the involvement of such person (noticee) is revealed, the authorised officials can certainly proceed against him for his acts of commission or omission. In such a situation, at the stage of issue of summons, the person cannot claim protection under Article 20(3) of the Constitution. However, if his/her statement is recorded after a formal arrest by the ED official, the consequences of Article 20(3) or Section 25 of the Evidence Act may come into play to urge that the same being in the nature of confession, shall not be proved against him. Further, it would not preclude the prosecution from proceeding against such a person including for consequences under Section 63 of the 2002 Act on the basis of other tangible material to indicate the falsity of his claim. That would be a matter of rule of evidence. 434. It is, thus, clear that the power invested in the officials is one for conducting inquiry into the matters relevant for ascertaining existence of proceeds of crime and the involvement of persons in the process or activity connected therewith so as to initiate appropriate action against such person ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mitations under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or any other law for the time being in force on granting of bail. The explanation is also there as under sub-section (2) thereof which is for the purpose of removal of doubts, a clarification has been inserted that the expression Offences to be cognizable and non-bailable shall mean and shall be deemed to have always meant that all offences under this Act shall be cognizable offences and non-bailable offences notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and accordingly the officers authorised under this Act are empowered to arrest an accused without warrant, subject to the fulfilment of conditions under section 19 and subject to the conditions enshrined under this section. 27. The fact about the implication of Section 45 has been interpreted by the Hon ble Apex Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary and Ors. Vs. Union of India and Ors.(supra) at paragraphs-371-374. For ready reference, the said paragraphs are being referred as under: 371. The relevant provisions regarding bail in the 2002 Act can be traced to Sections 44(2), 45 and 46 in Chapter VII concerning the offence under this Act. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... his Act are empowered to arrest an accused without warrant, subject to the fulfilment of conditions under section 19 and subject to the conditions enshrined under this section.] 372. Section 45 has been amended vide Act 20 of 2005, Act 13 of 2018 and Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019. The provision as it obtained prior to 23.11.2017 read somewhat differently. The constitutional validity of Sub-section (1) of Section 45, as it stood then, was considered in Nikesh Tarachand Shah. This Court declared Section 45(1) of the 2002 Act, as it stood then, insofar as it imposed two further conditions for release on bail, to be unconstitutional being violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The two conditions which have been mentioned as twin conditions are: (i) that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence; and (ii) that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. 373. According to the petitioners, since the twin conditions have been declared to be void and unconstitutional by this Court, the same stood obliterated. To buttress this argument, reliance has been placed on the dictum in State of Manipur. 374. The first issue to be answered by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 17. As well settled by now, the conditions specified under Section 45 are mandatory. They need to be complied with. The Court is required to be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty of such offence and he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. It is needless to say that as per the statutory presumption permitted under Section 24 of the Act, the Court or the Authority is entitled to presume unless the contrary is proved, that in any proceedings relating to proceeds of crime under the Act, in the case of a person charged with the offence of money laundering under Section 3, such proceeds of crime are involved in money laundering. Such conditions enumerated in Section 45 of PML Act will have to be complied with even in respect of an application for bail made under Section 439 Cr. P.C. in view of the overriding effect given to the PML Act over the other law for the time being in force, under Section 71 of the PML Act. 29. The Hon ble Apex Court in the said judgment has further laid down that the twin conditions as to fulfil the requirement of Section 45 of the Act, 2002 before granting the benefit of bail is to be adhered ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eference, paragraph-30 of the said judgment reads as under: 30. The conditions specified under Section 45 of PMLA are mandatory and need to be complied with, which is further strengthened by the provisions of Section 65 and also Section 71 of PMLA. Section 65 requires that the provisions of CrPC shall apply insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act and Section 71 provides that the provisions of PMLA shall have overriding effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force. PMLA has an overriding effect and the provisions of CrPC would apply only if they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. Therefore, the conditions enumerated in Section 45 of PMLA will have to be complied with even in respect of an application for bail made under Section 439 CrPC. That coupled with the provisions of Section 24 provides that unless the contrary is proved, the authority or the Court shall presume that proceeds of crime are involved in money-laundering and the burden to prove that the proceeds of crime are not involved, lies on the appellant. 32. The Hon ble Apex Court in the case of Tarun Kumar vs. A ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... being SLP (Crl.) No. 9047 of 2023 and the same is pending under consideration. In the instant case, the High Court in the impugned order while repelling the said submission made on behalf of the appellant, had distinguished the case of Raman Bhuraria and had observed that unlike Raman Bhuraria who was an internal auditor of SBFL (for a brief period statutory auditor of SBFL), the applicant was the Vice President of Purchases and as a Vice President, he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company. It was also observed that the appellant's role was made out from the financials, where direct loan funds have been siphoned off to the sister concerns of SBFL, where the appellant was either a shareholder or director. In any case, the order granting bail to Raman Bhuraria being under consideration before the coordinate bench of this Court, it would not be appropriate for us to make any observation with regard to the said order passed by the High Court. 33. So far as the ground taken that the judgement rendered by the Hon ble Apex Court in Satender Kumar Antil vs. CBI and Anr., (2022) 10 SCC 51 be also taken into consideration wherein that Hon'ble Apex Court has pa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssuance of bailable warrant. (d) NBW may be cancelled or converted into a bailable warrant/summons without insisting physical appearance of the accused, if such an application is moved on behalf of the accused before execution of the NBW on an undertaking of the accused to appear physically on the next date/s of hearing. (e) Bail applications of such accused on appearance may be decided without the accused being taken in physical custody or by granting interim bail till the bail application is decided. CATEGORIES B/D On appearance of the accused in court pursuant to process issued bail application to be decided on merits. CATEGORY C Same as Categories B and D with the additional condition of compliance of the provisions of Bail under NDPS (Section 37), Section 45 of the PMLA, Section 212(6) of the Companies Act, Section 43-D(5) of the UAPA, POSCO, etc. 34. However, the Hon'ble Apex Court recently in the case of Gurwinder Singh vs. State of Punjab and Anr., 2024 SCC OnLine SC 109, has observed that the conventional idea in bail jurisprudence vis- -vis ordinary penal offences that the discretion of Courts must tilt in favour of the oft-quoted phrase - bail is the rule, jail is th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd of the petitioner that before arrest in view of the provision of Section 19(1) of the Act, 2002 there was no communication of reason of arrest. The Section 19(1) provides that the power to arrest is there under Section 19(1) of the Act, 2002 which is to be exercised by communicating the order in writing after arrest as soon as possible. 38. The aforesaid provision has been clarified so far as the condition that what is the meaning of as soon as by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Vijay Madanlal Choudhary and Ors. Vs. Union of India and Ors. (supra) wherein at paragraph 458 it has been observed by the Hon ble Supreme Court that after arrest, as soon as may be, the person should be informed about the grounds for such arrest and so long as the person has been informed about grounds of his arrest that is sufficient compliance of mandate of Article 22(1) of the Constitution. Moreover, the arrested person before being produced before the Special Court within twenty-four hours or for those purposes of remand on each occasion, the Court is free to look into the relevant records made available by the Authority about the involvement of the arrested person in the offence of money- ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... them salary. He was further confronted with the email id of Jagatbandhu Tea Estates Pvt Ltd which is mentioned as [email protected] in its account opening form of IDFC First bank to which he stated that all work of Jagatbandhu Tea Estates Pvt Ltd is done by employees of his company and thus for doing work efficiently and conveniently the email id was mentioned as [email protected]. Thus, it is seen that the accused person is repeatedly giving misleading answers in an attempt to conceal the activities linked to the laundering of proceeds of crime in assistance with Dlip Kumar Ghosh and Jagatbandhu Tea Estates Pvt Ltd. In his earlier statement he had stated that the transactions between of Jagatbandhu Tea Estates Pvt Ltd and Rajesh Auto Merchandise Pvt Ltd were borrowing and loans. In his statement dated 11.06.2023 (RUD No. 75), he was asked about any documents which could prove loans or borrowing between the above two companies. He could not produce any such documents. During investigation it reveal that between period 02.09.2021 to 14.09.2021, Dilip Kumar Ghosh was removed as a director from seven companies belonging to Amit Kumar Agarwal and on 01.10.2021 the property was r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed as Agarwal group of companies). Dilip Kumar Ghosh has previously been associated with several companies linked to Amit Kumar Agarwal. 46. It has come in the investigation that during the search conducted at FKI House, F3, Block GP. Sector Kolkata, West Bengal V. F.S Bidhannagar, 700091, which is the address where the books of accounts of the company M/s Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd. are maintained, various documents of M/s Rajesh Auto Merchandise Pvt. Ltd. were seized. 47. The seizure of these documents evidences that M/s Jagathbandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Rajesh Auto Merchandise Pvt. Ltd. are unified entities and collectively overseen and operated by the Agarwal group of Companies. Dilip Kumar Ghosh used to of be the directors of several companies of the said Agarwal group and he ceased from the director of the above companies of Agarwal group during the period 02.09.2021 to 14.09.2021. Immediately after his cessation, i.e. on 01.10.2021, the defence property was registered in the name of Jagatbandhu Tea Estates Pvt. Ltd. 48. It is alleged that cessation of Dilip Kumar Ghosh from the directorship from the above companies of the Agarwal group was thoughtful move driven ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t in the event of conviction. In Neeru Yadav v. State of U.P. [Neeru Yadav v. State of U.P., (2014) 16 SCC 508 :] , this Court has held that while applying the principle of parity, the High Court cannot exercise its powers in a capricious manner and has to consider the totality of circumstances before granting bail. This Court observed : (SCC p. 515, para 17) 17. Coming to the case at hand, it is found that when a stand was taken that the second respondent was a history-sheeter, it was imperative on the part of the High Court to scrutinise every aspect and not capriciously record that the second respondent is entitled to be admitted to bail on the ground of parity. It can be stated with absolute certitude that it was not a case of parity and, therefore, the impugned order [ Mitthan Yadav v. State of U.P., 2014 SCC OnLine All 16031 ] clearly exposes the non-application of mind. That apart, as a matter of fact it has been brought on record that the second respondent has been charge-sheeted in respect of number of other heinous offences. The High Court has failed to take note of the same. Therefore, the order has to pave the path of extinction, for its approval by this Court would tan ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed person has been directed to be released on bail, the same will not attract the principle of parity on the principle that Article 14 envisages positive equality and not negative equality. For ready reference, relevant paragraph, i.e., paragraph-19, of the aforesaid judgment reads as under: 19. It is axiomatic that the principle of parity is based on the guarantee of positive equality before law enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution. However, if any illegality or irregularity has been committed in favour of any individual or a group of individuals, or a wrong order has been passed by a judicial forum, others cannot invoke the jurisdiction of the higher or superior court for repeating or multiplying the same irregularity or illegality or for passing similar wrong order. Article 14 is not meant to perpetuate the illegality or irregularity. If there has been a benefit or advantage conferred on one or a set of people by any authority or by the court, without legal basis or justification, other persons could not claim as a matter of right the benefit on the basis of such wrong decision. 55. This Court in order to come to the conclusion as to whether the case of the petitioner is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the money was falsely shown to be paid in the deed no. 6888 of 2021 through other cheques. Although no further payments were done, the purchasers and sellers have mentioned on page 04 of the sale deed that यह भी विदित हो कि प्रतिफल कि कुल राशि मोवलिग 7,00,00,000/-( सात करोड़ रूपया) मात्र प्राप्त किये है | जिसकी प्राप्ति विक्रेता स्वीकार व समपुष्ट करते है | अब विक्रय संपति के मूल्य में किसी ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es which was received in his Bank of India account bearing no. 450110110002549 (RUD No. 11 12). 3.6 As stated above that there were ongoing litigations regarding the possession of this property between Army and the purported claimant Jayant Karnad who had sold the land to 14 persons by way of 16 deeds (RUD No. 115 to KON 130) on strength of the order obtained from the High Court of Jharkhand by concealing and manipulating facts. The accused persons namely Afshar Ali Pradip Bagchi and his accomplices meanwhile prepared a fake deed from the office of the Registrar of Assurances, Kolkata. In the name of Prafulla aa Bagchi F/o Pradip Bagchi (RUD No. 108 113). It was projected that his father Prafulla Bagchi had given the land orally to the Army and as on day Pradeep Bagchi is the purported rightful claimant of the property. These persons contacted Prem Prakash for selling this land (Accused in illegal mining case and presently in judicial custody). Prem Prakash Is a power broker and a very influential person who was access to highly placed government officials and ministers in Jharkhand. Prem Prakash is also very close to Mr. Chhavi Ranjan, the Ex-D.C Ranchi and Amit Kumar Agarwal who ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... p Kumar Ghosh (Accused no.2- Director of M/s Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd.) In his statement dated 27.02.2023 (RUD No. 77) recorded under section 50 of PMLA, 2002, the accused Dilip Kumar Ghosh stated that Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd. is his company and Amit Kumar Agarwal. He stated that tea leaves are plucked from the tea plants of the company which is spread over 120 acres. He further stated that the tea estate has nearly 155 labours to whom the wages are paid in cash. On being asked the reasons of frequent huge cash deposit in the account of IDFC First Bank of the company Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd., he stated that the same are the sale proceeds of the raw tea leaves sold by the company at its tea garden. He further provided misleading answers on being asked why the cash is deposited at salt lake, Kolkata while the tea is sold at the company's garden at Jalpaiguri. The accused Dilip Kumar Ghosh stated that since, the company has no bank account at Jalpaiguri and due to covid, the cash was not deposited in the bank, he used to go to Jalpaiguri and transported the cash which was deposited in the bank in Kolkata. He further stated that the cash was deposited in cash ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssession letter to the office of the Ranchi Municipal Corporation and after obtaining holding number in respect of the property in question, the said property was sold to M/s. Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd., of which the Dilip Kumar Ghosh was a director. 59. From the sale deed of this property registered on 01.10.2021 (RUD No. 7), it is seen that the declared government value/Market value of the said property is Rs 20,75,84,200/whereas the said property has been sold for an amount of Rs 7,00,00,000 /which is highly undervalued as compared to the declared government rate. 60. In his statement which was recorded under section 50 of PMLA, 2002 he stated that work of his companies is done by the employees of Amit Kumar Agarwal and the salaries, P. F and E.SI of those employees are also paid by Amit Kumar Agarwal. He had no employees at his Salt Lake office where he sits with Amit Kumar Agarwal. He further stated that he had been directors of several companies of Amit Kumar Agarwal and he had obtained the directorship of those companies on the directions of Amit Kumar Agarwal. 61. Now this court is adverting in to facts of instant to decide the issue of parity in the backdrop of afore ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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