Prior sanction required for prosecuting public servants under PMLA: Supreme Court
The bench upheld the quashing of a money laundering case against two former Indian Administrative Service officers.
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Section 197(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires prior government sanction for prosecuting public servants, also applied to money laundering cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, said the Supreme Court on Wednesday, reported Live Law.
A bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih upheld the Telangana High Court’s decision quashing a money laundering case against former Indian Administrative Service officers Bibhu Prasad Acharya and Adityanath Das.
The bench held that prior permission was not taken to prosecute the two former officers.
The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Acharya, in conspiracy with former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, unlawfully allotted 250 acres of land for a Special Economic Zone project to Indu Techzone Pvt Ltd, reported The Indian Express. Acharya has also been accused of indirect involvement in money laundering.
Das, then principal Secretary of the Irrigation and CAD Department of Telangana, allegedly conspired with Reddy to illegally allot an additional 10 lakh litres of water from the Kagna River to India Cement Ltd, the Enforcement Directorate has alleged.
On January 21, 2019, the Telangana High Court allowed the quashing of the case, pointing at the lack of the prior sanction for prosecution.
The Enforcement Directorate moved the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order, stating that...
