AHSAN AHMAD MIRZA Vs. DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition filed under Sec. 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, the petitioner seeks quashing of a complaint filed by the respondent against him alleging commission of offence of money laundering under Sec. 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 ["PMLA"] as also the impugned prosecution launched against the petitioner pursuant to the order of cognizance dtd. 2/12/2019. The petitioner also prays for quashing of order dtd. 18/3/2020 passed by the Designated Special Court (the Court of Principal Sessions Judge, Srinagar), whereby the charges have been framed against the petitioner.

(2.) The short point that is raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner is that the complaint is eventually instituted by the respondents for prosecution of the petitioner under Sec. 3 and 4 of PMLA and what is alleged against the petitioner is misappropriation of funds of JKCA with criminal conspiracy with other accused persons and that the funds so misappropriated have been laundered by layering them into other bank accounts thereby generating proceeds of crime within the meaning of Sec. 2(1)(u) of PMLA.

(3.) It is submitted that with regard to the aforesaid allegation of misappropriation of JKCA funds, the CBI has already registered an FIR for commission of offences under Ss. 120-B, 406 and 409 RPC. Both the aforesaid offences i.e. S. 406 and S. 409 RPC, it is contended, are not the scheduled offences as defined under Sec. 2(y) of PMLA. It is, thus, argued that commission of scheduled offence is a sine qua non for offence of money laundering and, therefore, in the absence of commission of schedules offence, there could be no proceeds of crime and no offence under PMLA. It is argued that the very basis of launching prosecution against the petitioner for commission of offence of money laundering defined under Sec. 3 and punishable under Sec. 4 of PMLA was that Sec. 120-B RPC is a scheduled offence and, therefore, in view of the law laid down by this Court in its judgment dtd. 15/10/2019 passed in WP(C) No. 2780/2019 titled Ahsan Ahmad Mirza v. Enforcement Directorate, registration of case under PMLA was permissible. However, the legal position enunciated by a Single Bench of this Court is now no longer a good law in view of the issue having been decided by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Pavana Dibbur v. Directorate of Enforcement, AIR 2024 SC 117. In the said case, the Supreme Court has held as under:-