HIREN PANCHAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The short point before the Court is whether the statutory window for provisional attachment of the property under Sec. 5(1)(b) of The Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) would be available to the Authority under Sec. 5 taking recourse to the orders passed by the Supreme Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No.(S) 3/2020. By the said series of orders, the Supreme Court extended the period of limitation prescribed under the general and special laws with effect from 15/3/2020 till further orders.

(2.) The facts in the present case relate to a provisional order of attachment dtd. 30/9/2021 relating to immovable properties belonging to M/s. K.P. Garments Private Limited represented by its directors who are the petitioners before this Court. The petitioner no. 1 replied to the impugned order on 3/1/2022. There is no other subsequent factual development on record after the petitioner's reply. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now called the petitioners for a hearing on 27/6/2022 in continuation of the ECIR case of 2020 dtd. 17/2/2020.

(3.) The petitioners are before this Court for contending that the ED cannot travel beyond the statutory limit of 180 days or take the benefit of the orders passed by the Supreme Court for the benefit of litigants during the Covid period. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that the question of life and liberty of the petitioners would override all other conditions in the present case. It is also submitted that the 180 days expired on 31/3/2022; taken from the provisional order of attachment dtd. 30/9/2021.