Karti P. Chidambaram Vs Deputy Director (Appellate Tribunal Under Safema At New Delhi)
Prosecution Complaint Valid Despite Delay – Tribunal Rejects Karti Chidambaram’s Plea under Section 8(3)(a)- COVID Limitation Extension Saves ED – Tribunal Upholds Attachment of Karti Chidambaram’s Jor Bagh Property- – ₹16 Crore Jor Bagh Asset Attachment Confirmed under PMLA
The appeal was filed by Shri Karti P. Chidambaram challenging the Adjudicating Authority’s order dated 29.03.2019 confirming Provisional Attachment Order No. 09/2018 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The attached assets included his 50% share in Jor Bagh property, New Delhi (₹16.05 crore) & multiple bank accounts with Indian Overseas Bank totaling over ₹6 crore.
Appellant’s sole contention was that the Prosecution Complaint was filed on 01.06.2020—after 430 days from confirmation of attachment—& therefore, by virtue of Section 8(3)(a) of PMLA, the attachment lapsed after 365 days. He argued that the Supreme Court’s COVID-19 orders excluding limitation periods applied only to judicial/quasi-judicial proceedings & not to executive actions such as filing of prosecution complaints. Reliance was placed on earlier Tribunal rulings like S. V. Srinivas v. ED & Dayanand Narvekar v. ED, & on S. Kasi v. State (2021) 12 SCC 1, which held that limitation extensions during COVID did not apply to filing of charge sheets.
