In a writ petition application filed under Article 226 of the Constitution, the High Court of Calcutta noted that directing the concerned person to appear is within the powers under section 50 of the PMLA Act and It will be too much to ask the authorities to record reasons at every stage even while issuing summons in terms of Section 50 of the PMLA Act
Brief Facts:
In the current case, an application under Article 225 of the Constitution of India, wherein it has been prayed for quashing the impugned summons and a direction that no coercive measures should be taken against the petitioner in respect of the said summon.
Contentions of the Petitioner:
The Learned Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the Petitioner is not an accused in this case and only a summon has been issued to him. It was further mentioned that the company in question in which the petitioner was a director that is Zenith Finesse India Private Limited was now sold to another company as per IBC. Then reliance was made on the decision in V. Senthil Balaji’s case and it was submitted that the power to arrest in a PMLA case is very limited and has to be exercised very cautiously and as per law. It was then mentioned that the petitioner’s apprehension and consequent prayer for ‘no coercive action’ comes from the fact that two other witnesses called by such summons have been arrested. Further, it was mentioned that as per section 50(3) of the PMLA Act, a witness can be asked to attend in person or through an authorized agent, and in the current case there is no reason why the petitioner should be asked to come in person and here the summon was sent for production of documents and not any other purpose.
Contentions of the Respondent:
The Learned Counsel for the Respondent submitted that the summons indicated that the petitioner should appear in person and it was also mentioned that he was not only to produce documents but also to tender evidence, which was contended to be permissible in law. It was further contended that the judgment in V. Senthil Balaji’s case (supra) vindicates the powers of the Enforcement Directorate including the power to arrest. However, that stage has not come yet, as the petitioner has not been examined. The counsel made reliance on the case of Commissioner of Customs, Calcutta v. M. M. Exports, and submitted that at the stage of issuance of summons Courts should normally not interfere with the proceeding,
Observations of the Court:
The court first noted that the power of the Enforcement Directorate to arrest an accused cannot be in question in view of the decisions in V. Senthil Balaji’s Case, however the same is not directly in issue in the current case. In the current case, the petitioner has been given notice to appear and produce certain documents in terms of section 50 of the PMLA Act. the court further added that if the petitioner is not in a position to produce certain documents because he is not in charge of the company anymore, then the same can be contended before the authorities, but the court noted that it is clear that documents have been sought as regards several other companies. The court then added that under section 50 of the PMLA Act, it was specifically directed that the petitioner should attend in person and that it would be too much to ask the authorities to record reasons at every stage even while issuing summons in terms of Section 50 of the PMLA Act. Accordingly, the court did not find any reason as to why the petitioner could not cooperate with the proceeding.
The decision of the Court:
The Court did not find any merit in the writ petition and the same was dismissed.
Case Title: Pritimoy Chakraborty Vs. Union of India & Ors.
Coram: Hon’ble Justice Jay Sengupta
Case no.: WPA 20644of 2023
Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr. Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, Sr.Adv, Mr. Subhankar Nag Ms. Sayanti Sengupta, Mr. Jamiruddin Khan
Advocate for the Respondents: For the ED Mr. Arijit Chakrabarti, Mr. Deepak Sharma
For the Union of India Mr. Billwadal Bhattacharyya, Ld. DSGI, Mr. Tirtha Pati Acharyya
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