New Delhi: A special court for hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Mumbai recently remarked that people wanted in economic offence cases such as Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi were able to flee India because of the failure of investigating agencies to arrest them in proper time.
The remarks were made on May 29 by Special Judge MG Deshpande as the court was hearing an objection raised by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to an application filed by an accused seeking permission to travel abroad, reported LiveLaw.
“Ld. SPP Mr. Sunil Gonsalves vehemently argued that if such application is allowed, it will give rise to the situation like Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Mehul Chokshi etc. I thoughtfully examined this argument and felt it necessary to note that all these persons fled because of the failure of the Investigating Agencies concerned in not arresting them at proper time,” observed the PMLA court.
In this specific case, the court pulled up the ED for failing to arrest the accused Vyomesh Shah under the PMLA and then expecting that the court would prevent the accused from travelling abroad.
The Special Judge also observed that the court cannot do what the ‘ED basically failed to do.”
“It is simply because it is the ED who basically allows such person to be scotfree without any apprehensions of his travelling abroad, tampering and hampering evidence, flight risk, apprehension of dealing with POC and assisting the said process etc. But for the first time when such person appears before the Court all such contentions and objections astonishingly crop up before the Court. So, this Court has repeatedly taken firm stand that, the Court cannot do what the ED basically failed to do,” said the court.
The court granted permission to accused Shah for travelling abroad during and until the conclusion of the trial in the money laundering case against him, reported LiveLaw.
The court said that it cannot impose conditions on individuals who have not been arrested by the ED under section 19 of the PMLA and instead have appeared before the court in response to summons.