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TMI Blog2024 (1) TMI 1283X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uding by way of criminal complaint before the competent forum. A Coordinate Bench of this Court in case of Nayati Healthcare [ 2023 (10) TMI 822 - DELHI HIGH COURT] has also considered the issue whether the prosecution initiated by the respondent/ED can be continued in a case where the accused has already been acquitted/discharged for the predicate offence and it was held that the present complaint filed by the ED and the proceedings arising therefrom cannot survive. Considering that the FIR has been quashed by this court and that it has not been challenged till date, there can be no offence of money laundering under section 3 of the PMLA against the petitioners. The complaint filed by the respondent/ED and the consequential proceedings cannot survive. Considering that the co-accused Dr. Jeevan Kumar has been acquitted by the trial court vide judgment dated 22.03.2013 and that the said judgment has not been challenged till date, there can be no offence of money laundering under section 3 of PMLA against the petitioner. Accordingly, the ECIR bearing no. ECIR/7/DZ/2008 is quashed along with all consequential proceedings arising therefrom stated to be pending before the concerned cour ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 22.03.2013 and the same has not been challenged and has therefore, attained finality. 5. The learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits that in view of the fact that the co-accused Dr. Jeevan Kumar has been acquitted by the trial court, the present complaint filed by the ED is not maintainable. In this regard, he places reliance on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary V Union of India, 2022 SCC OnLine SC 929; judgment of Division Bench of this Court in Harish Fabiani and Others V Enforcement Directorate and Others, 2022 SCC OnLine Del 3121; judgments of Coordinate Benches of this Court in Nayati Healthcare and Research Pvt. Ltd. And Others V Union of India Ministry of Home Affairs and Another, W.P.(CRL) 2871/2022, decided on 11.10.2023; in Prakash Industries Ltd. and Another V Directorate of Enforcement, 2022 SCC OnLine Del 2087; in Directorate of Enforcement V Gagandeep Singh and Others, 2022 SCC OnLine Del 514 and in Arun Kumar Mishra V Directorate of Enforcement, 2015 SCC OnLine Del 8658. The learned Senior Counsel also cited various other judgments in support of his submissions and prayed that the complaint filed by the respo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... asoning is that firstly, authorities under the PMLA cannot resort to action against any person for money-laundering on an assumption that the property recovered by them must be proceeds of crime and that a scheduled offence has been committed; secondly, the scheduled offence must be registered with the jurisdictional police or pending inquiry by way of complaint before the competent forum; thirdly, in the event there is already a registered scheduled offence but the person named in the criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence is finally absolved by a Court of competent jurisdiction owing to an order of discharge, acquittal or quashing of the criminal case of the scheduled offence, there can be no action for money laundering against not only such a person but also any person claiming through him in relation to the property linked to the stated scheduled offence. In other words no action under PMLA can be resorted to unless there is a substratum of a scheduled offence for the same, which substratum should legally exist in the form of a subsisting (not quashed) criminal complaint/inquiry or if it did exist the accused has since been discharged or acquitted by a Court of compe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ri Shashi Kumar (supra) [Manturi Shashi Kumar V Director, Directorate of Enforcement, 2023 SCC OnLine TS 1098] has also quashed a complaint under Section 3 of the PMLA on the grounds of the accused being discharged/acquitted of the scheduled offence. The relevant observations of the said judgment are set out below:- 28. Thus, according to Supreme Court, the offence under Section 3 of PMLA is dependent on illegal gain of property as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence. If the person is finally discharged or acquitted of the scheduled offence or the criminal case against him is quashed by the court, there can be no offence of money laundering against him or anyone claiming such property being the property linked to the scheduled offence. It is immaterial for the purpose of PMLA whether acquittal is on merit or on composition. 14. In view of the aforesaid legal position, the present complaint filed by the ED and the proceedings arising therefrom cannot survive. Considering that the FIR has been quashed by this court and that it has not been challenged till date, there can be no offence of money laundering under section 3 of the PMLA against the petitioner ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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