The Supreme Court, on April 5, indicated its inclination to dismiss the money laundering case against certain accused individuals connected to the alleged Chhattisgarh liquor policy scam, citing the absence of a predicate offense and proceeds of crime.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan heard the writ petitions filed by six accused, including IAS officer Atul Tuteja and his son Yash Tuteja.
Justice AS Oka pointed out to Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), that without a predicate offense, there could be no proceeds of crime, thereby negating the possibility of money laundering.
Earlier, the Court had stayed the proceedings against the petitioners upon considering their argument that the ED’s case was based on an alleged violation of the Income Tax Act, which is not a scheduled offense under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
During the recent hearing, Justice Oka reiterated that the complaint cannot be entertained due to the absence of a predicate offense.
In response, ASG Raju mentioned that a new predicate offense had been registered against the petitioners, but due to the stay on this offense, a fresh Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) could not be filed.
Justice Oka emphasized that the challenge in the case pertains to the current complaint against the accused, stating that without a predicate offense, there cannot be any proceeds of crime, thus necessitating the quashing of the complaint.
The court instructed ASG Raju to verify whether the present proceedings stem from the same complaint challenged before the Supreme Court, which involved different accused individuals. The petitions filed by co-accused Karishma Dhebar, Anwar Dhebar, Arun Pati Tripathi, and Siddharth Singhania were also listed alongside the petitions filed by the Tutejas.
