VIJAY MADANLAL CHOUDHARY Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order will govern the disposal of W.P. Nos.4336/15, 4341/15, 4344/15, 4347/15, 4350/15, 5089/15, 5091/15 and 5625/15 since it is submitted by counsel for both the parties that the issue involved in all these writ petitions is identical.

(2.) THE writ petition Nos.4336/15, 4341/15, 4344/15, 4347/15, 4350/15, 5089/15 and 5091/15 have been filed by the petitioner for quashing the proceeding and investigation initiated under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (in short PMLA) whereas in W.P. No.5625/2015 additionally writ of Habeas Corpus has been prayed.

(3.) IN brief the case of petitioner in W.P. Nos. 4336/15, 4341/15, 4344/15, 4347/15, 4350/15, 5089/15 and 5091/15 is that petitioner No. 1 is promoter and Group Chief Executive of Zoom Group of Companies, petitioner No.2. Petitioner No.2 had availed non -fund based bank guarantee facilities from Punjab National Bank and other banks and when number of lending banks increased, a consortium was formed under the leadership of Punjab National Bank as PNB consortium and credit limits were sanctioned to respondent No. 2. Due to the global economic meltdown of 2008, the bank guarantees were invoked by the bankers which brought the business activities of petitioner at a halt in November 2009. When the CDR process was going on at that stage complaints were filed by PNB and other banks, as a result of which five cases were registered under Section 120 -B read with Section 420 of IPC against the petitioners being (1) RC BD1/2011/E/0005 at the instance of PNB; (2) RC BD1/2011/E/0009 by Syndicate Bank Mumbai; (3) RC BD1/2011/E/0010 at the instance of Canara Bank Mumbai; (4) RC BD1/2012/E/0007 at the instance of United Bank of India Mumbai and (5) RC BD1/2013/E/0001 by Union Bank of India Mumbai. In these cases, the investigation has been done by CBI and the charge sheets have been filed before the competent court and petitioner No.1 was enlarged on bail. The respondents thereafter based upon the above five FIRs registered by CBI have suo motu registered five cases i.e. (I) ECIR/INSZO/7/2013; (ii)ECIR/INSZO/8/2013; (iii) ECIR/INSZO/9/2013; (iv) ECIR/INSZO/10/2013; and (v) ECIR/INSZO/11/2013 under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 at Indore Sub Zonal Office.