TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (9) TMI 1087
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....eferred to as "ECIR case") dated 22.08.2022 registered under Sections 3/4 PMLA, 2002 at Police Station HIU, Directorate of Enforcement (hereinafter referred to as ""ED"). 2. The Applicant has submitted that he is an experienced professional with expertise in Tier-I Client Management, Regulatory, and Policy expertise, Project Strategy and Management, Government Advisory, Business Development with substantial International exposure. He is a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kerala and has also completed Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from University of Saskatchewan and Master of Business Administration from Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. The Applicant has worked in a varied range of sectors and fields across countries. The Applicant started his career with Reliance Industries Limited and went on to work in Canada for seven years as an Analyst at the Ontario Power Generation Nuclear Safety Solutions Limited and worked with various other Companies. The Applicant had volunteered to work with organisations such as UNICEF, Canada to educate children about UNICEF's Work for Children across the world, as well as with Afghans4Tomor....
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....in the Applicant was arrayed as an accused. He has been granted bail in the CBI case by the learned Special Judge vide Order dated 28.02.2023. 9. The first Supplementary Chargesheet in CBI case has been filed in the Court on 25.04.2023 against the four other accused persons, including the Accused-Manish Sisodia. All the 11 accused persons are facing trial in the CBI case. 10. Insofar as the facts of the ED case are concerned, it is alleged that the investigations have revealed that advance kickback amount of Rs. 100 crores has been paid to the politicians and other public servants in Delhi. Hence, due to the nexus created by the political persons, Government officers and officials and other accused persons involved in this conspiracy, a total loss of Rs. 2873 cores has been caused to the Exchequer of GNCTD. 11. It is also alleged that all the accused persons are found to have been involved in multiple activities related to or connected with proceeds of crime of scheduled offences in regard to which the ED registered the case in terms of Section 3 of PMLA, 2002. It is alleged that all the accused persons have dealt with the proceeds of crime and they are guilty of offence o....
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....her ground for seeking regular bail pleaded on behalf of the Applicant are that no prima facie case is made out against the Applicant. The entire case of the respondent rests on the statements extracted under Section 50 of PMLA, 2002 from the Approvers, Witnesses or co-accused persons, to which there is not a single document which corroborates the statements of them and there is not a single piece of evidence which points to the guilt of the Applicant. Moreover, though such statements may be admissible in evidence but their prohibitive value is extremely weak and cannot be made a sole basis for reaching any conclusion under Section 45 of PMLA, 2002. Those Statements under Section 50 of PMLA, 2002 are only corroboratory in nature and are required to be substantiated with further evidence. Reliance has been placed on behalf of the Applicant on the decision in Chandra Prakash Khandelwal vs. Directorate of Enforcement, decided vide Bail Application 2470/2022 by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court on 23.02.2023, wherein it had been observed that the weightage of Section 50 of PMLA, 2002 statement can be seen only at the time of trial. 18. It is further argued that only such property ....
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....000/- in M/s Indo Spirits, out of which, 1,00,00,000/- was given to the Applicant on the instructions of K. Kavitha. In exchange of the kickbacks given by the South Group to Vijay Nair and AAP, M/s Indo Spirits was made the wholesaler of M13 PRI which is one of the most profitable L1. The funds of Rs. 3,40,00,000/- which was used to show the investment in M/s Indo Spirits, is actually claimed to be the proceeds of crime. 25. Further allegations against the Applicant are that he conducted, organised and participated in several Meetings to form and shape this cartel. One such meeting took place in May, 2021 at Gauri Apartments, New Delhi, wherein he along with his associates Abhishek Boinpalli and Buchi Babu, met Vijay Nair and others to discuss the retail cartel formation and an arrangement was arrived at, wherein ADS Group was supposed to assist the South Group to set up its business in Delhi. In June, 2021, the Applicant along with his associates, Abhishek Boinpalli and Buchi Babu arranged the meeting of Sameer Mahandru with Sarath Chandra Reddy with regards to investments in liquor business. They all flew in a chartered flight of Sarath Chandra Reddy from Hyderabad to Delhi, w....
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....liance has been placed on the decisions in Ranjitsingh Brahmajeetsingh Sharma vs. State of Maharashtra & Anr., (2005) 5 SCC 294 and Vijay Madanlal Choudhary & Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors., 2022 SCC OnLine SC 929. 33. It is claimed that the threshold for arrest under Section 19 of PMLA, 2002 is very high and the Applicant has been arrested on 06.03.2023 at around 09:20 P.M. by the respondent in flagrant violation of Section 19 of PMLA, 2002. Furthermore, the investigations are still pending qua the other persons and it will take years for the trial to begin. The Prosecution Complaint and Supplementary Prosecution Complaints contain 16,576 pages of relied upon documents. Further two other Supplementary Prosecution Complaints have been filed on 06.04.2023 and 28.04.2023. Owing to the voluminous nature of evidence, the trial would take years to conclude, for which, the reliance has been placed on the decisions in State of Kerala vs. Raneef, (2011) 1 SCC 784 and Sanjay Agarwal vs. Directorate of Enforcement, decided vide Crl. Appeal 1835/2022 by the Apex Court on 21.10.2022. 34. It is further stated on behalf of the Applicant he satisfies the general triple test for grant of reg....
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....m involving payment of huge kickbacks amounts from the South Group to Vijay Nair and the recoupment of the same from the business in Delhi. The Applicant has a partnership of 32.5% in M/s Indo Spirits which got L1 licence. He along with other co-accused persons orchestrated the whole scheme of forming a cartel of the manufacturers, wholesalers and retail which controlled almost 30% of the entire liquor business in Delhi alone. 40. The Applicant was involved in formation of cartel of manufacturers, wholesalers and multiple retail zones. Though on paper, the Applicant is shown as a partner of M/s Indo Spirits, but he represented the interest of K. Kavitha as her proxy, which is established by the extensive evidence that has been collected during the investigations. 41. It has been explained that the Applicant was deeply involved in the drafting and formulation of the Excise Policy 2021-22 in conspiracy with Vijay Nair and had given inputs to Vijay Nair and being a part of the discussions where Vijay Nair had proposed favours in the Policy that was under drafting at that time. 42. It is claimed that Manish Sisodia had called C. Arvind to the residence of Arvind Kejriwal on 18....
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....s been claimed that the Applicant had an active role in cartel formation, but there is no such evidence as the investment of Rs. 3.4 crores into M/s Indo Spirits was sourced through legal channels and from different entities as loan. There is no evidence that the investment was financed by K. Kavitha or at her behest. The only allegation is qua Rs. 1,00,00,000/- given by V. Srinivas on the instructions of K. Kavitha, but it is admitted to be a loan which has been repaid on 10.12.2021. 47. It is also submitted that the statements made by Sameer Mahandru have been retracted. Moreover, Sameer Mahandru is an accomplice and hence, his statements are not reliable. 48. Similarly, statements given by Butchi Babu for the same reason cannot be relied upon as he is also an accused in scheduled offence. No statement/evidence of any transaction/payment of money from the Applicant to K. Kavitha, has been produced. It is submitted that the cartel formation at the most was a violation of the Policy, but it was a business cartel. 49. Further, it is argued on behalf of the Applicant that there is no evidence whatsoever to establish the role of the Applicant in formulation of Policy. There i....
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....corded in the ED case about the handling of the proceeds of crime by the Applicant. 58. The twin conditions as laid down in Section 45 of PMLA, 2002 are, therefore, not satisfied. 59. Furthermore, the offence of money laundering is an independent offence and grant of bail in predicate offence has no bearing to the present proceeding. 60. Reliance has been placed on behalf of the respondent on the decisions in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary, (supra), Pavana Dibbur vs. Enforcement Directorate, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1586, ED vs. Aditya Tripathi, decided vide Criminal Appeal No. 1401/2023 by the Apex Court on 12.05.2023, P. Rajendran vs. Directorate of Enforcement, decided vide Criminal Original Petition No. 19880/2023 by the Madras High Court on 14.09.2022, J. Sekar vs. Union of India & Ors., 2018 SCC OnLine Del 6253, Radha Mohan Lakhotia vs. Directorate of Enforcement, 2010 SCC OnLine Bom 1116 and Dr. Manik Bhattacharaya vs. Ramesh Malik & Ors., decided vide SLP (C) 16325/2022. 61. In the end, it is argued that the delay cannot be the sole ground to grant bail even after the Court is of the view that the person is guilty of the offence of money laundering. 62. Reliance has also....
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....d he is not likely to abscond from the country. 68. As noted in Manish Sisodia v. Directorate of Enforcement 2024 INSC, there is no possibility of tampering of evidence by the Applicant if the Applicant is granted bail as the case is primarily dependent on documentary evidence which is already seized by the prosecution. Similarly, the apprehension regarding influencing witnesses and that of being a flight risk can be diffused by imposing stringent conditions while granting bail. Therefore, the conditions of triple test are duly satisfied by the Applicant. 69. It is admitted that the Applicant has been behind bars since 06.03.2023, there are around 69,000 pages of documents involved in both CBI and ED matters. Moreover, there are 493 witnesses, who have to be examined on behalf of the prosecution. In the same case, the other accused persons, namely, Manish Sisodia, K. Kavitha, and Vijay Nair have already been admitted to bail in similar circumstances. 70. In the case of Manish Sisodia (supra) the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed that prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence should not be permitted to become punishment without trial. It was further ....