ECIR copy may be marked subject to objection; evidentiary value can be tested at final judgment.

An ECIR is an administrative document used by the Enforcement Directorate to initiate investigation and is not analogous to an FIR or proof of guilt in a PMLA prosecution. If the defence objects, the proper course is to mark the document subject to objection and decide its evidentiary value at final judgment. The trial court's refusal to permit marking of the ECIR copy, and its insistence on production of the original as a condition precedent to trial, were unwarranted; the prosecution was directed to be allowed to mark the copy subject to objection.

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Issues: Whether the trial court was justified in refusing to permit the prosecution to mark a copy of the ECIR form and in insisting on production of the original ECIR as a condition precedent for the trial to proceed.

Analysis: The ECIR is only an administrative document used by the Enforcement Directorate to commence investigation on the basis of knowledge of a scheduled offence. It is not analogous to an FIR under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and it does not by itself prove guilt or innocence in a prosecution under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002. The proper course, if the defence objects, is to mark the document subject to objection and leave the question of its evidentiary value to be decided at the time of final judgment. The refusal to mark the document and the insistence on the original were therefore unwarranted, and the prosecution could have obtained the original through appropriate procedural steps if necessary.

Conclusion: The trial court's refusal to permit marking of the ECIR copy was set aside, and the prosecution was directed to be allowed to mark the copy subject to the defence objection being recorded.

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