V RAMACHANDRAN Vs. SPECIAL DIRECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners herein challenge the impugned proceedings (No.SDE/KS/IV/5/2010) of the respondent-Special Officer, Enforcement Directorate, dated 03.09.2010, in and by which, a penalty of Rs.5,00,000/- came to be imposed under Section 13 (1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, on each of the petitioners herein by the aforesaid authority for the alleged contravention of the provisions under Section 6 (3)(j) of the Act on the ground that the petitioners offered personal guarantee for a loan amount of US$ 13.5 Million to a resident outside India without obtaining prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

(2.) CERTAIN vital facts, which are necessary to be pointed out for better appreciation, are concisely outlined here-under:-

(3.) I have given my thoughtful consideration to the rival submissions made on either side and carefully perused the materials available on record.