NEW DELHI: Adjourning a plea by former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh for interim protection from arrest in a money laundering case lodged by Enforcement Directorate, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear it on August 3.
A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Krishna Murari and V Ramasubramanian said that the case would be listed with many other similar petitions pertaining to the Section 45(1) of The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which put limitations on granting bail.
The Section 45(1) of the Act mentions two pre-conditions for bail— one, unless the public prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the bail application; and two, the court is satisfied that reasonable grounds exist for believing that the person is not guilty of the offence, and the person is not likely to commit any crime while on bail. A few years ago, the apex court had declared it unconstitutional, but the government subsequently brought an amendment in the law, which allegedly revived the provision, in 2018.
In his petition filed through advocate Avadh Bihari Kaushik, the former Maharashtra minister contended that the apex court had granted interim protection to other petitioners who had challenged the provisions, and pleaded for a similar relief.
“This court in similar matters, especially relating to the determination as to whether the twin limitations on bail under Section 45(1) of PMLA stand revived post the amendment carried out in 2018,” the petition said.
It added that the court in Nikesh Tarachand Shah case had categorically held the twin conditions under Section 45(1) of the PMLA to be unconstitutional. “An amendment thereafter was brought in March 2018, which did not explicitly resurrect or revive the twin conditions. Despite the clear position of law that once a court strikes down a provision the same is erased from the statute book, the Enforcement Directorate has been urging in opposition to bail across the country that such twin conditions have been revived and resurrected,” the petition read.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate issued fresh summons to the Nationalist Congress Party leader and his son on Friday to appear before it next week in connection with the money laundering case probe, official sources said. The 71-year-old NCP leader and his son Hrishikesh Deshmukh have been asked to depose before the investigating officer of the case on August 2 at the ED’s office in south Mumbai. This is the fourth summons to Anil Deshmukh.
A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Krishna Murari and V Ramasubramanian said that the case would be listed with many other similar petitions pertaining to the Section 45(1) of The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which put limitations on granting bail.
The Section 45(1) of the Act mentions two pre-conditions for bail— one, unless the public prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the bail application; and two, the court is satisfied that reasonable grounds exist for believing that the person is not guilty of the offence, and the person is not likely to commit any crime while on bail. A few years ago, the apex court had declared it unconstitutional, but the government subsequently brought an amendment in the law, which allegedly revived the provision, in 2018.
In his petition filed through advocate Avadh Bihari Kaushik, the former Maharashtra minister contended that the apex court had granted interim protection to other petitioners who had challenged the provisions, and pleaded for a similar relief.
“This court in similar matters, especially relating to the determination as to whether the twin limitations on bail under Section 45(1) of PMLA stand revived post the amendment carried out in 2018,” the petition said.
It added that the court in Nikesh Tarachand Shah case had categorically held the twin conditions under Section 45(1) of the PMLA to be unconstitutional. “An amendment thereafter was brought in March 2018, which did not explicitly resurrect or revive the twin conditions. Despite the clear position of law that once a court strikes down a provision the same is erased from the statute book, the Enforcement Directorate has been urging in opposition to bail across the country that such twin conditions have been revived and resurrected,” the petition read.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate issued fresh summons to the Nationalist Congress Party leader and his son on Friday to appear before it next week in connection with the money laundering case probe, official sources said. The 71-year-old NCP leader and his son Hrishikesh Deshmukh have been asked to depose before the investigating officer of the case on August 2 at the ED’s office in south Mumbai. This is the fourth summons to Anil Deshmukh.