Assistant Director (PMLA), Directorate of Enforcement Vs Ashok Anand (Madras High Court)
Summary: The Madras High Court, in Assistant Director (PMLA), Directorate of Enforcement Vs Ashok Anand, allowed a criminal revision petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate challenging an order postponing proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) until disposal of an appeal against conviction in the scheduled offence. The Division Bench comprising Justice S.M. Subramaniam and Justice A.D. Maria Clete held that the mere pendency of a criminal appeal against a conviction in the predicate offence cannot operate as an absolute bar against continuing the money-laundering trial. The High Court set aside the order dated 30 April 2024 passed by the Principal Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge under the PMLA at Puducherry and directed the trial court to proceed with the prosecution uninfluenced by the High Court’s factual observations.
The controversy arose from Special C.C. No. 02 of 2022, pending before the PMLA Special Court at Puducherry. Ashok Anand, arrayed as accused No. 2, filed an application under Section 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, seeking postponement of the money-laundering trial until disposal of Criminal Appeal No. 724 of 2018. That appeal challenged his conviction in the underlying scheduled offence. The Special Court accepted the application, relying upon the Supreme Court’s judgment in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary Vs Union of India, 2022 SCC OnLine SC 929, and subsequent decisions. The Enforcement Directorate consequently approached the Madras High Court in revision under Sections 397 and 401 CrPC.
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