New Delhi: The Supreme Court upheld the important powers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court dismissed the petitions challenging the broad powers of the ED.
The apex court upheld the ED’s powers to search, arrest and seize property at any suspected location.
The landmark verdict was delivered by a division bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravi Kumar after hearing detailed arguments on 242 petitions filed against the powers of the Enforcement Directorate.
The Court upheld the constitutionality of Section 5, Section 8 (4), Section 15, Section 17, Section 19 and Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PML Act). The judgment upholding Section 45 related to bail states that the onus is on the accused to prove that the allegations leveled by the ED are false and the accused should produce evidence if he is arrested.
The court pointed out that the ED’s ECIR (Informant First Information Report) related to the case is an important document and is equivalent to an FIR. ECIR is not to be given to the accused. Just enter the information in ECIR. The three-judge bench also clarified that if the accused is imprisoned, the accused can demand the document through the court.
