AT allowed the appeal and directed the Adjudicating Authority to...

AT allowed the appeal and directed the Adjudicating Authority to issue notice under Section 8(2) of the PMLA to the anonymized appellant and permit participation in adjudication proceedings. The AT held that the proviso to Section 8(2) does not require a claimant to establish an indisputable title or ownership; rather a legitimate interest in the property suffices to trigger the obligation to serve notice and afford an opportunity to prove the property is not involved in money laundering. The tribunal rejected the contention that only perfect titleholders may claim and found no basis to exclude persons with recognized proprietary or quasi-proprietary interests from the Section 8(2) process.

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