Birendra Singh Kandari & others Vs State of Uttarakhand & Another (Uttarakhand High Court)
Material Facts: The applicants filed a criminal miscellaneous application under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) seeking to quash Criminal Misc. No. 396 of 2025 arising out of ECIR No. ECIR/DNSZO/01/2024 under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), along with the notices/summons dated 18.07.2025 issued by the Special Judge, PMLA, Dehradun.
Procedural History
The applicants treated the notices dated 18.07.2025 as a summoning order. The respondent submitted that no separate summoning order had been passed and relied upon the order dated 14.07.2025, by which the Special Judge directed issuance of notices to the accused for hearing on the point of cognizance and fixed 04.08.2025 for such hearing.
Legal Issues
- Whether the challenge to the notices dated 07.2025was maintainable.
- Applicability of Section 46 of the PMLA Act, 2002and Section 223 of the BNSS, 2023 to the proceedings before the Special Court.
Relevant Statutory Provisions
- Section 528, BNSS, 2023
- Section 223, BNSS, 2023
- Sections 3, 4 and 46, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
Parties’ Submissions
The respondents submitted that the notices were pre-cognizance notices issued pursuant to the order dated 14.07.2025 to provide the applicants an opportunity of hearing before cognizance, and therefore the application challenging them was premature. They also relied on Section 46 of the PMLA Act read with Section 223 of the BNSS.
