In a바카라 웹사이트significant verdict on Wednesday, the Supreme Court바카라 웹사이트upheld the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) powers relating to arrest, attachment of property involved in money laundering, search and seizure under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that were challenged by multiple petitioners including Congress' Karti Chidambaram.바카라 웹사이트It upheld the ED's powers relating to arrest, attachment of property involved in money laundering, and search and seizure under the PMLA.바카라 웹사이트
What did the SC바카라 웹사이트say on PMLA?
The SC upheld the ED's powers relating to arrest, attach property, search and seize under PMLA that were challenged by multiple petitioners including Congress leader Karti Chidambaram, who is himself under the ED's lens for his involvement in a money laundering scam.바카라 웹사이트
The apex court held that바카라 웹사이트concealment, possession, acquisition or even projecting a property connected to proceeds of crime as untainted constitutes an offence under the anti-money laundering law.
Section 3 of the Act deals with the offence of money laundering.바카라 웹사이트The apex court said it is amply clear from the bare language of section 3 of PMLA바카라 웹사이트that money laundering is an independent offence regarding the process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime which had been derived or obtained as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence.
While upholding the validity of certain contested provisions of PMLA, the top court said section 3 of the Act has a wider reach and captures every process and activity, direct or indirect, in dealing with proceeds of crime and is not limited to the happening of the final act of integration of tainted property in the formal economy.바카라 웹사이트
How parties reacted to the SC verdict
The government hailed the verdict with바카라 웹사이트Law Minister Kiren Rijiju stating that바카라 웹사이트the verdict has cleared all those efforts to create confusion and doubts by various quarters and has바카라 웹사이트proved that agencies don't do anything which is illegal and unconstitutional. Defending the recent space of바카라 웹사이트actions against Opposition leaders바카라 웹사이트by the centrally run바카라 웹사이트probe agencies including ED and CBI, Rijuju said that the SC verdict shows바카라 웹사이트that the agencies are바카라 웹사이트truly in the spirit of the government's intention to check corruption and punish the corrupt.
BJP president J P Nadda saying the law of the land must be respected while SC lawyers and party spokespersons Gaurav Bhatia and Nalin Kohli바카라 웹사이트slammed opposition parties for their attack on its provisions. Bhatia said it was a "landmark judgement" which has upheld the ED's powers to arrest accused, search their premises and seize their assets that the probe agency believes have been acquired through proceeds of crime and money laundering.
Congress, whose top leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are바카라 웹사이트currently being questioned by the ED in connection with the National Herald money laundering case, has denounced the verdict with senior party바카라 웹사이트leader Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot claiming that the verdict will lead to an바카라 웹사이트increase in the possibility of "political misuse" of the ED by the Centre.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also released a statement which said stated that the verdict바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트will have far-reaching implications for "our democracy, especially when governments are anchored in political vendetta".
Significance of SC verdict
The verdict comes in wake of several바카라 웹사이트Opposition parties and leaders바카라 웹사이트accusing바카라 웹사이트the government of misusing the law to target them. The court was responding to a바카라 웹사이트batch of바카라 웹사이트 over 200 petitions filed by individuals and other entities challenging various provisions of the PMLA.바카라 웹사이트
Top opposition politicians including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi along with P Chidambaram and his son and MP Karti, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, also a TMC MP, and Delhi minister Satyendar Jain are among those under the ED's lens for alleged money laundering.
(With inputs from PTI)
