Delhi High Court: In a criminal petition filed under Section of the (‘CrPC’) against theorder rejecting the discharge application of the accused on the ground that cognizance was not taken by the Trial Court, the Single Judge Bench of Chandra Dhari Singh, J. held that the Trial Court has taken cognizance in accordance with law and the Explanation-II of Section 44(1)(b) of the PMLA does apply retrospectively. Thus, it is not necessary for the Special Court under PMLA to record its reasons for taking cognizance of Directorate of Enforcement (‘ED’) complaint, unlike a private complaint under CrPC or Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Background:
During the internal audit carried out by Zonal Internal Audit Division (ZIAD) of Bank of Baroda(‘the Bank’), certain serious irregularities were observed/reported pertaining to foreign exchange transactions in current accounts of various firms/companies amounting to approximately Rs. 6,000 Crores. It was further revealed during the audit that a huge amount of advance import remittances was sent from the newly opened accounts without ensuring compliance with banking guidelines. Thereafter, the Bank filed a complaint and the Central Bureau of Investigation (‘CBI’) registered an FIR against 59 current account holders (proprietor/director/partner of the 59 firms/companies) and other unknown bank officials/private persons for commission of the offences under Sections read with Section of the (‘IPC’) read with Sections and of the (‘PC Act’). Based on this First Information Report (‘FIR’), an Enforcement Case Information Report (‘ECIR’) was recorded by the ED for investigation under the provisions of (‘PMLA’).
Upon conclusion of the initial investigation by the ED, prosecution complaint under the PMLA was for the commission of offences under Section 3 read with Section 4 of the PMLA against several persons including the accused and the cognizance was taken by Trial Court. Thereafter, the accused filed an application seeking dropping of the proceedings against him pending before the Trial Court as no cognizance has been taken by the Court concerned. However, the said application was dismissed by the Trial Court stating that the accused’s contention has no merit, and the main matter was listed for arguments on charge. Hence the present petition had been filed against the aforesaid order of dismissal and seeking his discharge.
Issues and Analysis:
Whether any cognizance was taken by the Trial Court;
Referring to the cases of R.R. Chari v. State of U.P., ; Devarapally Lakshminarayana Reddy v. V. Narayana Reddy, and Yash Tuteja v. Union of India, , the Court noted that under the PMLA, a Special Court can only take cognizance of an offence under Section 3, punishable under Section 4, based on a complaint filed by the ED. The Court noted that in the aforesaid judgments, it was held that while Section 46 of the PMLA stipulates that CrPC applies to proceedings before the Special Court too since it functions like a Sessions Court, as the phrase “save as otherwise provided in PMLA” allows exceptions. Therefore, the Court held that in the absence of any overriding provision in the PMLA, Sections to of duly applies to complaints filed under the PMLA.
Coming to the merits of this case, the Court perused the order dated 11-12-2015, wherein cognizance is said to have been taken. The Court noted that as per the material on record, the Trial Court took judicial notice of the offence vide the aforesaid order and decided to proceed further with the matter when it ordered the complaint to be checked and registered, following which it was directed by the Trial Court that copies of the complaint be supplied to the concerned defense counsel. The said acts depict taking cognizance of the offence under the PMLA.
The Court reiterated that cognizance under Section 44 (1) (b) of the PMLA is based on the prosecution complaint filed by the ED pursuant to an investigation.
The Court referred to the judgment of Pradeep S. Wodeyar v. State of Karnataka, , wherein, it was held that the provisions of CrPC would apply to the procedure undertaken before a Special Court enacted under a special statute unless the said special statute explicitly prohibits the application of provisions of the CrPC.
Applying the aforesaid principle to the facts of the instant case, the Court stated that it is not necessary for the Special Court under the PMLA to record its reasons for the cognizance since the said complaint is filed by an investigating agency unlike the private complaint under Section of the .
Thus, the Court held that the Trial Court has duly taken cognizance of the alleged offence.
Thereafter considering the facts of the matter, the Court noted that the complaint discloses the accused’s role which constitutes the offence of money laundering under Section 3 of the PMLA. Additionally, when supplementary complaints were filed against other accused persons, the Trial Court acknowledged that cognizance of the offence had already been taken.
In this regard, the Court upheld the observations of the Trial Court as the same are in accordance with the law and specifically denotes that cognizance of the offence/complaint has been duly taken.
Whether the Trial Court could have taken cognizance upon the complaint filed by the ED while the investigation is still ongoing;
On the perusal of definition of “investigation”, as contained in Section 2 (h) of CrPC and Section 2(na) of the PMLA, the Court noted that when both the provisions are examined together, it becomes evident that the proceedings conducted by the ED for the purpose of collection of evidence are to be qualified as “investigation”. The Court stated that as per Section 65 and 46 of the PMLA, unless stated otherwise in the PMLA, CrPC provisions, including those on bail and preliminary procedures, apply to PMLA cases.
The Court stated that this interpretation is further supported from the Explanation II to Section 44(1) of the PMLA, which provides that the complaint would 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 offence for which complaint has already been filed, whether named in the original complaint or not. Thus, the Court held that undoubtedly a supplementary complaint can certainly be filed by the ED against an accused, who is already facing prosecution for offence under Section 3 of the PMLA before the Special Judge.
Based on the above legal analysis, the Court rejected the contention of the accused and held that it is evident that when an investigating agency is authorized to conduct the investigation and carries out additional investigation to collect further evidence, it has the right to submit a supplementary complaint to present the newly collected material on record.
If answer to the second issue is in affirmative, then whether the Explanation-II of Section 44(1)(b) of the PMLA introduced by way of amendment applies retrospectively?
After the perusal of Explanation-II to Section 44(1)(b) of the PMLA, the Court stated that that the ED has the right to include any subsequent complaint in order to conduct further investigation into an alleged offence against the accused persons, to bring forth additional evidence, oral or documentary against any accused person for which a complaint has been already filed, whether named in the original complaint or not.
The Court relied on the case of State of Bihar v. Ramesh Prasad Verma, and stated that it is evident that when an explanatory provision is added in a statute, it merely clarifies the meaning of the provisions. Therefore, it is a well settled position in law that if a provision is meant to correct, clarify, or declare what the previous law intended, it generally applies retrospectively. Thus, the Court held that Explanation-II to Section 44(1)(b) of PMLA has retrospective effect and coherently applies to the instant case.
The Court also observed that this same view was taken by the Supreme Court in the landmark case of Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India, wherein the Court underscored the rigorous standards set by the PMLA for evidence in complaints, permitting initial complaints based on prima facie evidence while accommodating supplementary complaints as investigations progress.
The Court observed that in essence, Explanation-II permits the parallel processing of trials and investigations, avoiding indefinite postponement of trials solely for the completion of the investigation, and this approach is in line with Section of the . The Court noted that the addition of this explanation clarifies the legislature’s intent to enable ongoing investigative processes while simultaneously advancing the trial of available evidence.
Furthermore, the Court observed that the Supreme Court and High Courts have interpreted Section 44 and Explanation-II of the PMLA in ways that facilitate the ED’s ability to initiate prosecution promptly, thereby preventing undue delays that could arise if completion of the entire investigation were required.
Based on the aforesaid, the Court rejected the contention of the accused and held that an initial complaint can be filed under Section 44 of the PMLA, even if the investigation is not fully completed, especially in light of Explanation-II.
Based on the aforesaid facts and law, the Court upheld the impugned order stating that no illegality has been committed by the Trial Court and dismissed the petition.
[Sanjay Aggarwal v. Directorate of Enforcement, CRL.M.C. No. 3146 of 2022, decided on: 11-11-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the accused: Mr. Naveen Malhotra and Mr. Ritvik Malhotra, Advocates
For the respondent: Mr. Anupam S Sharma, Special Counsel, ED along with Mr. Prakarsh Airan, Ms. Harpreet Kalsi, Mr. Vashisht Rao, Advocates with Mr. Syamantak Modgil, AD
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