Conspiracy under Section 120-B IPC is not a standalone scheduled offence under the PMLA unless tied to a scheduled predicate offence.

Section 120-B IPC, by itself, is not a standalone scheduled offence for invoking the PMLA; it becomes relevant only when the alleged conspiracy is to commit an offence already specified in the PMLA Schedule. The Court held that a mere allegation of conspiracy cannot convert a non-scheduled offence into a scheduled offence, so the PMLA proceedings could not be sustained and were quashed.

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Issues: Whether an offence under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, standing alone, constitutes a scheduled offence so as to enable invocation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Analysis: The challenge arose from summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate after proceedings initiated on the basis of income-tax raids and prosecution sanction under the Income-tax Act, 1961 and Section 120-B IPC. The decisive question was whether conspiracy, in isolation, could be treated as a scheduled offence under the PMLA. The controlling legal position was that Section 120-B IPC becomes a scheduled offence only when the alleged conspiracy is to commit an offence specifically included in the Schedule to the PMLA. It cannot, by itself, convert every non-scheduled offence into a scheduled offence merely because conspiracy is alleged.

Conclusion: Section 120-B IPC, by itself, is not a standalone scheduled offence for invocation of the PMLA unless the object of the conspiracy is an offence already specified in the Schedule. The impugned judgment of the High Court could not be sustained and the PMLA proceedings against the appellants were quashed.

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