SC adjourns hearing on pleas against ED’s powers under PMLA

The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing on pleas seeking reconsideration of its July 27, 2022 verdict, which upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) powers under the PMLA to arrest and attach property. A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, and Bela M. Trivedi, deferred the hearing by eight weeks after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, requested time to address the petitioners’ arguments in detail. The bench permitted the petitioner’s side to amend its application, incorporating various “new aspects”, and directed the Centre to file its reply within four weeks.

The apex court specified that the rejoinder to the Centre’s reply should be filed within four weeks thereafter. The bench acknowledged that the deferment would leave limited time for drafting the order and noted that the Chief Justice of India would need to reconstitute the bench due to Justice Kaul’s impending retirement on December 25. Solicitor General Mehta, after arguments by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi for the petitioners, sought time to present his submissions, emphasising the need for a comprehensive review of the PMLA.

The court clarified that its scope was limited to determining whether the 2022 verdict required reconsideration by a larger five-judge bench. The Centre defended the PMLA as essential legislation, while the petitioners argued that the ED had become uncontrollable. The bench considered pleas seeking a review of the July 27, 2022 verdict, citing specific parameters for reconsideration.

In August 2022, the court had agreed to review the verdict and highlighted two aspects—non-provision of an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and the reversal of the presumption of innocence—that required reconsideration. The 2022 verdict affirmed the validity of certain PMLA provisions, emphasising that it was not an ordinary offence. The court upheld the ED’s powers for arrest, property attachment, and search and seizure under the PMLA.