SANJAY KUMAR AGARWAL Vs. DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The argument was heard on behalf of the petitioner which was argued by Mr. S.D.Sanjay, the learned Senior counsel assisted by Mr. Sumeet Gadodia, the learned counsel and Mr. Ritesh Kumar Gupta, the learned vice counsel and on behalf of the Opposite Party-Enforcement Directorate (ED) Mr. Amit Kumar Das, the learned counsel assisted by Mrs. Swati Shalini, Mr. Shivam Utkarsh, Mr. Saurav Kumar, and Mr. Sahay Gaurav Piyush, the learned counsels and after hearing at length on that day i.e. on 26/9/2022, the judgment was reserved.

(2.) This petition has been filed for quashing the order dtd. 9/5/2022 passed in Misc. Criminal Application No.362 of 2022 by learned Additional Judicial Commissioner-XVIII-cum-Special Judge, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Ranchi whereby the petition filed by the petitioner under Sec. 205 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.) for dispensing with the personal appearance of the petitioner has been rejected in connection with ECIR 05/2021, corresponding to CNR-JHRN01-002561-2022, pending in the same learned court.

(3.) The complaint was filed under Sec. 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 [hereinafter to be referred to as PMLA Act, 2002, for short] alleging therein that (i) the complaint case under the PMLA Act, 2002 has been initiated against the petitioner on the basis of the F.I.R. registered by the C.B.I., A.C.B., Dhanbad being RC1(A)/2020-D dtd. 10/2/2020, (ii) that it is stated that the aforementioned F.I.R. by the C.B.I., A.C.B., Dhanbad was registered against the petitioner on the basis of one complaint filed by Amit Sarawgi alleging, inter alia, that the petitioner being 'Insolvency Professional ' demanded a bribe of Rs.2.00 lacs per month from Amit Sarawgi for showing leniency in the insolvency resolution process for extending corporate insolvency resolution process from 9 months to two years and also demanded one time bribe of Rs.20.00 lacs from Amit Sarawgi for obtaining favourable forensic audit/valuation report from identified forensic auditor/valuer and for helping in repossession of plant/company by Amit Sarawgi and (iii) the C.B.I., A.C.B., Dhanbad after investigation of the matter filed a charge sheet on 31/12/2020 under Sec. 7 of the P.C.Act and therefore, the present complaint under Sec. 44 and 45 of the PMLA Act, 2002 was initiated against the petitioner.