SHOBHA WOOLLENS PVT. LTD. Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in W.P.No.2737 of 2021 is a private limited company, the petitioner in W.P.No.2738 of 2021 is a limited company and the petitioner in W.P.No.2794 of 2021 is a partnership firm. All these petitioners are carrying on business of manufacture, sale and export of carpets and floor coverings.

(2.) All these petitioners are before this Court challenging the imposition of "debit-freeze", by the 3rd Respondent, of the bank accounts of these petitioners maintained with the 4th respondent bank. As the issues raised in these three writ petitions are similar and the facts are also similar, all the three writ petitions are taken-up together for disposal.

(3.) A case had been initiated on account of FIR No.187 of 2017 registered on 11.05.207 by the Visakhapatnam Police against one Vaddi Mahesh and others, who are said to have conspired to create false and forged documents for the purpose of cheating the Government of India by transferring of Rs.569 crores in foreign exchange outside India to Singapore, Hongkong and China. A case under the Prevention of Money laundering Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') was also registered. It is the case of the 3rd respondent that about Rs.47.41 crores was transferred from various entities belonging to the Managing Director of the petitioners, to the bank accounts of firms created by the aforesaid Sri Vaddi Mahesh, which were further transferred to the other bank accounts of shell companies created by Sri Vaddi Mahesh.