PMLA Interpretation: Senior Lawyers Question Constitutionality Of Bail, Arrest & Attachment Procedure

The Supreme Court on Wednesday continued hearing the batch of petitions concerned with the interpretation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.The matter was listed before the bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar.Submission Of CounselsSubstance Of PMLA Is That It's Impossible For Accused & Judge Per Se To Give Bail Which Amounts To. Explanation Under Section 44 of PMLA Runs Contrary To Section 3 And Therefore Cannot Be Sustained; Act Of Lodging ECIR Being A Carbon Copy Of FIR On Same/Next Day & Commencing Process Of Investigation With Threat Of Arrest Is Not Proper Implementation Of This Act; Some Investigation Has To Be Done Even If You Take Prima Facie View Before Wheels Of Criminal Law Are Set Into Motion: Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi limited his submissions on the validity of the explanation under section 44 of PMLA Act which says, "For the removal of doubts, it is clarified that,— the jurisdiction of the Special Court while dealing with the offense under this Act, during investigation, enquiry or trial under this Act, shall not be dependent upon any orders passed in respect of the scheduled offense, and the trial of both sets of offenses by the same court shall not be construed as joint trial; the complaint shall be deemed to include any subsequent complaint in respect of further investigation that may be conducted to bring any further evidence, oral or documentary, against any accused person involved in respect of the offense, for which complaint has already been filed, whether named in the original complaint or not." Explanation Under Section 44 of PMLA Runs Contrary To Section 3 And Therefore Cannot Be Sustained Senior Advocate submitted that giving pre-eminence to the trial with regards to the money laundering offense and not the scheduled offense was contrary to Section 3 of the PMLA Act and would result in "manifest arbitrariness". Act Of Lodging ECIR Being A Carbon Copy Of FIR On Same/Next Day & Commencing Process Of Investigation With Threat Of Arrest Is Not Proper Implementation Of This Act; Some Investigation Has To Be Done Even If You Take Prima Facie View Before Wheels Of Criminal Law Are Set Into Motion During the course of hearing Senior Counsel while drawing court's attention to FIR and ECIR being lodged on the same day in verbatim, commencement of investigation and arresting the accused in both the offenses at different times said, "The act of lodging ECIR being a carbon copy of FIR on the same/next day & commencing the process of investigation with threat of arrest is not proper implementation of this act. Real Issue Would Not Be Whether The Twin Conditions Under Section45 Apply Or Not Or Of Their Constitutional Validity But Would Be As To Whether They Exist Or Not; Umbilical Cord Connection Between The Predicate & Money Laundering Offense: Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhari Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhari while referring to the Top Court's judgment in Nikesh Tarachand Shah's case and the amendment introduced in the section 45 vide Finance Act, 2018 submitted that the the real issue would not be whether the twin conditions under Section 45 apply or not or of their constitutional validity but would be as to whether they exist or not.