TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (2) TMI 117
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....8031 of 2020 which was filed before the High Court, by the appellant herein raising the issue relating to the freezing of their bank account. 3. When the Special Leave Petition was listed for admission, the learned senior counsel for the appellant while assailing the order passed by the High Court, inter alia contended that the freezing of the bank accounts maintained by the appellant company has prejudiced the appellant, inasmuch as, the amount in the account which belongs to the appellant is made unavailable to them due to which statutory payments to be made to the Competent Authorities under various enactments is withheld and the payment of salary which is due to the employees is also prevented. In that background, this Court though had not found any reason to interfere with the initiation of the proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 ('PMLA' for short) had, however, limited the scope of consideration in this appeal on the issue of defreezing the bank account so as to enable the appellant to make the statutory payments. In that view, notice had been issued to the respondent through the order dated 11.09.2020 in the following manner " issue notice restr....
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.... the power and competence to initiate the proceedings under the PMLA in view of the action taken for predicate offence, the High Court was very much justified. However, the High Court having held that the impugned communication was with competence or justification ought to have examined whether the 'due process' as contemplated under the PMLA was complied so as to make it valid and sustainable in law, though the power under the Act was available. As already noticed, the consideration to be made in this appeal is therefore limited to the aspect of freezing/defreezing the account, more particularly keeping in view the requirement of the appellant to make the statutory payments even if the freezing of the account is found justified. 7. While adverting to this aspect of the matter, what cannot be lost sight is also the fact as to whether the power available to the competent authority has been exercised in the manner as is contemplated under PMLA. The Directorate of Enforcement (Respondent No.4) in their counter affidavit has taken contradictory stand inasmuch as, while explaining the need to freeze the account has stated that the 'stop operation' was requested to stop the further la....
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....y investigation under this Act: (1A) Where it is not practicable to seize such record or property, the officer authorised under subsection (1), may make an order to freeze such property whereupon the property shall not be transferred or otherwise dealt with, except with the prior permission of the officer making such order, and a copy of such order shall be served on the person concerned: Provided that if, at any time before its confiscation under subsection (5) or subsection (7) of section 8 or section 58B or subsection (2A) of section 60, it becomes practical to seize a frozen property, the officer authorised under subsection (1) may seize such property. (2) The authority, who has been authorised under subsection (1) shall, immediately after search and seizure or upon issuance of a freezing order forward a copy of the reasons so recorded along with material in his possession, referred to in that subsection, to the Adjudicating Authority in a sealed envelope, in the manner, as may be prescribed and such Adjudicating Authority shall keep such reasons and material for such period, as may be prescribed. (3) Where an authority, upon information obta....
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.... of PMLA which defines "property" and "records". The same read as follows: "Sec. 2(v) " property" means any property or assets of every description, whether corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible and includes deeds and instruments evidencing title to, or interest in, such property or assets, wherever located." "Sec. 2(w) - "records" - include the records maintained in the form of books or stored in a computer or such other form as may be prescribed." 11. The scheme of the PMLA is well intended. While it seeks to achieve the object of preventing money laundering and bring to book the offenders, it also safeguards the rights of the persons who would be proceeded against under the Act by ensuring fairness in procedure. Hence a procedure, including timeline is provided so as to ensure that power is exercised for the purpose to which the officer is vested with such power and the Adjudicating Authority is also kept in the loop. In the instant case, the procedure contemplated under Section 17 of PMLA to which reference is made above has not been followed by the Officer Authorised. Except issuing the impugned communication dated 15.05.20....
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....if the said provision was in fact invoked. That apart, the impugned communication dated 15.05.2020 does not refer to the power being exercised under the Code of Criminal Procedure. 13. The action sought to be sustained should be with reference to the contents of the impugned order/communication and the same cannot be justified by improving the same through the contention raised in the objection statement or affidavit filed before the Court. This has been succinctly laid down by this Court in the case of Mohinder Singh Gill & Another vs. The Chief Election Commissioner, New Delhi & Ors. (1978) 1 SCC 405) as follows; "8. The second equally relevant matter is that when a statutory functionary makes an order based on certain grounds, its validity must be judged by the reasons so mentioned and cannot be supplemented by fresh reasons in the shape of affidavit or otherwise. Otherwise, an order bad in the beginning may, by the time it comes to court on account of a challenge, get validated by additional grounds later brought out. We may here draw attention to the observations of Bose J. in Gordhandas Bhanji: (1) "Public orders, publicly made, in exercise of a statutory....
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....and in no other manner. Among others, in a matter relating to the presentation of an Election Petition, as per the procedure prescribed under the Patna High Court Rules, this Court had an occasion to consider the Rules to find out as to what would be a valid presentation of an Election Petition in the case of Chandra Kishor Jha vs. Mahavir Prasad and Ors. (1999) 8 SCC 266 and in the course of consideration observed as hereunder: "It is a well settled salutary principle that if a statute provides for a thing to be done in a particular manner, then it has to be done in that manner and in no other manner". Therefore, if the salutary principle is kept in perspective, in the instant case, though the Authorised Officer is vested with sufficient power; such power is circumscribed by a procedure laid down under the statute. As such the power is to be exercised in that manner alone, failing which it would fall foul of the requirement of complying due process under law. We have found fault with the Authorised Officer and declared the action bad only in so far as not following the legal requirement before and after freezing the account. This shall not be construed as an opinion ex....