Issue of territorial jurisdiction in money laundering case cannot be decided in a writ petition

Rana Ayyub Vs Directorate of Enforcement Through Its Assistant Director (Supreme Court of India)

Supreme Court of India held that in money laundering case the issue of territorial jurisdiction cannot be decided in a writ petition, especially when there is a serious factual dispute about the place/places of commission of the offence.

Facts- The petitioner during the pandemic, initiated a crowdfunding campaign through an online crowdfunding platform named “Ketto” and ran three campaigns. In connection with the same, the Mumbai Zonal Office of the Enforcement Directorate initiated an enquiry against the petitioner under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1992.

Thereafter, a complaint was lodged by Vikas Sankritayan in Ghaziabad for alleged offences under Sections 403, 406, 418 and 420 IPC read with Section 66D of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 and Section 4 of the Black Money Act.

Based on the response submitted, Enforcement Directorate, the Delhi Zone registered a complaint in the Court of the Special Judge at Ghaziabad.

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