HC lifts provisional attachment orders under PMLA Section 5 after finding no notice served on property owner

The HC set aside provisional attachment orders under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 regarding property belonging to one party. The court found that no notice was served on the property owner in either the provisional attachment proceedings or confirmation proceedings. Additionally, the accused in the criminal prosecution died, causing automatic abatement of proceedings against him. The court directed deletion of attachment entries from revenue records and lifted the attachment on the subject property, disposing of the petition in favor of the petitioner.

---

---

Issues:
1. Direction to consider petitioner's representation dated 09.08.2021.
2. Dispute over a vacant land in Kancheepuram Town.
3. Enforcement Directorate's provisional attachment of subject property under PMLA.
4. Lack of notice to petitioner in attachment proceedings.
5. Death of the accused and implications on criminal prosecution.
6. Applicability of appeal process in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
7. Decision on setting aside the attachment and lifting the encumbrance on subject property.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner filed a writ petition seeking a direction for considering their representation dated 09.08.2021.
2. The dispute involved a vacant land in Kancheepuram Town, originally belonging to R.Bharani, forcibly acquired by Sridhar and later settled back to Bharani's family.
3. The Enforcement Directorate provisionally attached the subject property under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) due to scheduled offenses against Sridhar.
4. Notice regarding the attachment was only sent to Sridhar, not to the petitioner Amarabalan, despite the property being in the latter's name.
5. With Sridhar's death, the criminal prosecution against him automatically abated, impacting the proceedings.
6. While an appeal process exists under the PMLA, the court decided not to involve the petitioner due to lack of notice and the absence of a Presiding Officer in the Appellate Tribunal.
7. Considering the circumstances, the court set aside the attachment on the subject property and directed the removal of encumbrances, as no notice was served on the petitioner during the attachment proceedings.

This detailed analysis highlights the legal proceedings, the lack of notice to the petitioner, implications of the accused's death on prosecution, and the court's decision to lift the attachment on the subject property.

---