New Delhi: In a landmark ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court curtailed the Enforcement Directorate’s power to arrest an accused – under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA – if the accused appears as summoned by a special court that has taken cognisance of the complaint.
In such cases the agency must first seek that court’s nod, the top court said. “After cognisance is taken of the offence… the ED and its officers are powerless to exercise powers under Section 19 to arrest the person shown as accused in the complaint,” the Supreme Court said.
Section 19 of the PMLA allows ED officers to arrest an individual “on the basis of material in possession (and) reason to believe (to be recorded in writing) that the person is guilty… “Crucially, the agency must inform the individual, “as soon as may be” of the grounds for the arrest, the court further added.
The Supreme Court while hearing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. Earlier, the Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta had granted interim bail to Mr. Kejriwal till June 1, 2024, to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections.
“There is no gain saying that General Elections to Lok Sabha is the most significant and an important event this year, as it should be in a national election year. Between 650-700 million voters out of an electorate of about 970 million will cast their votes to elect the government of this country for the next five years. General Elections supply the vis viva to a democracy,” the Court observed in its order.
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