Mr Umar Farooq vs. The Directorate Of Enforcement
Held
The High Court held that since the predicate offense (Crime No.125 of 2021) against the petitioner was quashed by this Court, the subsequent ECIR and the provisional attachment order under the PMLA are unsustainable. The Court also reserved liberty for the respondent to restore proceedings if the quashing order is set aside by the Apex Court.
Facts
The Directorate of GST Intelligence registered a crime against the petitioner for GST evasion, alleging involvement in online betting and fake transactions facilitated by illegally purchased SIM cards and linked bank accounts. The Enforcement Directorate then registered an ECIR based on this predicate offense and issued a provisional attachment order.
Key Issues
Whether a provisional attachment order under PMLA remains valid if the predicate offense on which it is based is quashed by a competent court.
Sections Cited
Section 5(1) of PMLA
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
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NC: 2024:KHC:53000 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 13TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2024 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA WRIT PETITION NO. 33806 OF 2024 (GM-RES) BETWEEN:
MR. UMAR FAROOQ AGED ABOUT 51 YEARS PROPRIETOR OF M/S IOBITCODE INTERACTIVE ALFA CENTER NO.20 OUTER RING ROAD VENUGOPALASWAMY LAYOUT EJIPURA, VIVEKANAGARA POST BENGALURU, KARNATAKA - 560 047. 2. MRS. SHYAMALA N., HR MANAGER OF M/S. IOBITCODE INTERACTIVE ALFA CENTER NO.20 OUTER RING ROAD VENUGOPALASWAMY LAYOUT EJIPURA, VIVEKANAGARA POST BENGALURU KARNATAKA – 560 047. …PETITIONERS (BY SRI BASAVARAJU S., SENIOR ADVOCATE FOR SMT. RAMYA S., ADVOCATE)
AND:
THE DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 3RD FLOOR, B-BLOCK NINGAPPA PATTIHAL Location: High Court of Karnataka NC: 2024:KHC:53000 SHANTHINAGAR, TTMC K.H.ROAD SHANTINAGAR BENGALURU - 560 027 EMAIL ID: ddbgz05-ed@gov.in PHONE NO. 080-22537815/09. …RESPONDENT (BY SRI K. ARVIND KAMATH, ADDL. SOLICITOR GENERAL)
THIS
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