'Improve prosecution quality in money-laundering cases': Supreme Court to ED
What's the story
The Supreme Court on Wednesday urged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to enhance the quality of prosecution in money laundering cases. The observation was made by a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan during a bail plea hearing of Chhattisgarh businessman Sunil Kumar Agarwal, who was arrested on money laundering charges linked to coal transportation.
Conviction rate
Low conviction rate in PMLA cases, observes SC
At the hearing, Justice Bhuyan highlighted the low conviction rate in cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He referred to a statement made in Parliament on Tuesday by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, which revealed that out of approximately 5,000 PMLA cases registered since 2014, only 40 have resulted in convictions.
Evidence importance
SC emphasizes on quality prosecution, evidence
Citing the poor conviction statistics, Justice Kant said, "All the cases where you are satisfied that there is some prima facie case, you need to establish the cases in court...In this very case, you are merely harping upon some statements given by the persons." He criticized reliance on oral evidence which may not hold up during cross-examination and suggested a more scientific approach to investigation.
Court response
Statements under Section 50 PMLA are treated as evidence: ASG
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, in his defense, argued that statements under Section 50 PMLA are treated as evidence unlike Section 161 CrPC statements. However, Justice Datta questioned the sustainability of the arresting order in Agarwal's case. He pointed out that Section 19 of PMLA requires the arresting officer to provide "reasons to believe" to the accused.
Recent judgment
Petitioner's counsel cites recent judgment in Delhi CM's case
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the petitioner, referred to a recent judgment in Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's case. He noted that the court had ruled that reasons to believe, along with grounds of arrest, must be supplied to the accused. He also emphasized the necessity of arrest based on evidence with the investigating officer.
Legal challenge
Supreme Court to hear review petitions on August 28
The Supreme Court will begin hearing the review petitions seeking a reconsideration of the court's 2022 decision to uphold the validity of the PMLA on August 28. A three-judge bench delivered the July 2022 verdict on a batch of 241 petitions challenging the law's legitimacy. Two of the three judges who issued the ruling have already retired, leaving only Justice CT Ravikumar on the bench that will hear the review petitions.