SANJAY BHANDARI Vs. DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition has been filed under Sec. 482 Cr.P.C. seeking quashing of the Miscellaneous Application No. 249/2019 dtd. 13/12/2019 filed under Sec. 4, 10 and 12 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act before the Court of Ld. Special Judge, Rouse Avenue Court Complex, Delhi, the summoning order dtd. 24/12/2019 and all proceedings emanating therefrom.

(2.) The petitioner submitted that the material on record does not meet the essential ingredients for declaring the petitioner herein as a Fugitive Economic Offender, and thus the proceedings are not maintainable. The petitioner has argued that the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, can apply only in cases where a Non-Bailable Warrant is issued against the accused person, and where the value involved in such Scheduled Offence is one hundred crores rupees or more. The petitioner contends that the impugned Miscellaneous Application merely makes a bold averment that 'the accused is covered under the definition of Fugitive Economic Offender as defined under Sec. 2(f) of the Act.' It further states that 'the proceeds of crime in the Scheduled Offence are in excess of Rs.100.00 crores,' which has been confirmed by the Income Tax Authorities via their communication dtd. 9/7/2019 (Annexure A-6).

(3.) The petitioner has asserted that there is not a shred of evidence to show that the proceeds of crime allegedly generated by the petitioner from the Scheduled Offence are Rs.100.00 crores or more. Furthermore, it has been submitted that the Directorate of Enforcement has relied on the communication dtd. 9/7/2019 from the Income Tax Department to claim that the alleged proceeds of crime are in excess of Rs.100.00 crores. However, the said communication itself states that the assessment under the Black Money Act against the petitioner has not been finalized. In the absence of any conclusive assessment against the petitioner under the Black Money Act, there is no finding of tax evasion; therefore, there is no basis to assert that the alleged proceeds of crime are in excess of Rs.100.00 crores.