TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (3) TMI 1754
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....t he has acquired disproportionate assets in his name and in the name of his family members and his friend including the present applicant while he was working as a Constable, MP Transport Department. In that FIR, it is alleged that Smt. Divya Tiwari, wife of Saurabh Sharma purchased a plot from Jiauddin for Rs. 6,59,679/- on 07.09.2022. On the same day, Chetan Singh Gaur (co-accused) who is friend and business partner of Saurabh Sharma purchased another plot from Akhtar Jia for Rs. 5,28,255/-. Saurabh Sharma was establishing a branch of renowned Jaipuria School in which he has made his mother Smt. Usha Sharma as Chairperson and his wife Smt. Divya Tiwari as director. Saurabh Sharma has made significant fixed deposit in the name of his son Aviral Sharma. Additionally, M/s Aviral Building Construction Pvt. Ltd, incorporated in 2021 in which present applicant (Sharad Jaiswal) and Chetan Singh Gaur are directors and Rohit Tiwari, brother-in-law of Saurabh Sharma is as Additional Director. In this company, Saurabh Sharma allegedly amassed substantial wealth through corrupt practices within the Transport Department. This company was operated from the residence of accused persons at E-7/....
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....ecorded under Section 50(2) and (3) of PMLA. Search was also made by the Income Tax Department in Innova Car No.MP07BA0050 in which there was cash of Rs. 11.60 crore and 51.893 kg gold worth of Rs. 40,27,43,902/-. The said Innova car is registered in the name of the co-accused Chetan Singh Gaur but that vehicle was used by the co-accused Saurabh Sharma. Applicant and other co-accused persons were arrested and after investigation complaint was filed before the competent Court. During the investigation conducted by ED, it is found that huge amount and properties have been made by the present applicant, co-accused persons, their family members, relatives, friends and company. 6. Learned counsel for applicants submits that applicants are innocent and they have been falsely implicated in this case. They are not the main accused. Co-accused Sourabh Sharma is the principal and main accused. It is further submitted that main accused Saurabh Sharma was earlier arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act on 28.01.2025. In that case, Lokayukt has not filed the charge-sheet in the prescribed period, therefore, default bail was granted on 01.04.2025. Thereafter, ED has registered ECIR/BH....
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....ce in the judgment delivered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the cases of Anwar Dhebar Vs. Directorate of Enforcement Criminal Appeal No. 2669 of 2025 and Ramkripal Meena Vs. Directorate of Enforcement 2024 SCC Online SC 2276. It is further submitted that provisions attachment order No.05/2025 has already been passed and property has been attached thus, there is no likelihood of applicant committing any such offence while on bail. He further placed reliance in the judgment delivered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the cases of V.Senthil Balaji V. The Deputy Director, Directorate of Enforcement (Criminal Appeal No.4011d of 2024), Arvind Kejriwar v. Directorate of Enforcement (2025) 2 SCC 248, Dr. Natesha V. Directorate of Enforcement (W.P.No.32956 of 2024), Rashmi Metaliks Ltd. V. Directorate of Enforcement (2022) 238 AIC 398 and Mari Appa V. State of M.P 1990 MPLJ 621. 6.2 It is further submitted that if the allegation is one of a grave economic offence, it is not a rule that bail should be denied in every case. In this regard, has placed reliance upon the decisions of Apex Court in Sanjay Chandra Vs. CBI, (2012) 1 SCC 40 (para 28). It is further submitted that the righ ....
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....his name and his company's name and projecting the same as untainted. It is further submitted that during investigation, bank accounts of applicant and his company namely M/s Aviral Building Constructions Pvt. Ltd., were analyzed and it is found that he got unsecured loans of Crores of rupees from Chetan Singh Gaur, M/s Smriti Associates, M/s Mandodeep Nagrik Sahakari Pratasthan, Vinay Haswani, Arvind Agrawal etc. without any agreement. These unsecured loans were used for purchasing immovable properties in his name and in his company, M/s./ Aviral Building Construction Pvt. Ltd. 7.1 He was involved in the process or activity connected with the proceedes of crime including its concealment, possession, acquisition, use and projecting and claiming as untainted property. It is further submitted that various immovable properties were acquired in the name of M/s Aviral Building Constructions Private Limited. Present applicant was the Director in the aforesaid Company. It is further submitted that source of funds for purchase of the immovable properties in the name of the M/s. Aviral Building Constructions Private Limited were arranged by co-accused Saurabh Sharma either through unsecu....
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....ot be a pre-registered criminal case in connection with scheduled offence. This is because the machinery provisions cannot be construed in a manner which would eventually frustrate the proceedings under the 2002 Act. Such dispensation alone can secure the proceeds of crime including prevent and regulate the commission of offence of money laundering. The authorised officer would, thus, be expected to and, also in a given case, justified in acting with utmost speed to ensure that the proceeds of crime/property is available for being proceeded with appropriately under the 2002 Act so as not to frustrate any proceedings envisaged by the 2002 Act. In case the scheduled offence is not already registered by the jurisdictional police or complaint filed before the Magistrate, it is open to the authorised officer to still proceed under Section 5 of the 2002 Act whilst contemporaneously sending information to the jurisdictional police under Section 66(2) of the 2002 Act for registering FIR in respect of cognizable offence or report regarding non-cognizable offence and if the jurisdictional police fails to respond appropriately to such information, the authorised officer under the 2002 Act can....
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.... in the case of Gurcharan Singh Vs. State ( Delhi Administration) 1978 (1) SCC 118. It is further stated that mandatory provisions of Section 17 and 18 of the Act have been complied with. It is further submitted that relevant date under PMLA, 2002 is not when schedule offence was committed but when the persons indulges in any process or activity. The criminal activity may have been committed prior to the offence being notified as schedule offence. It is further submitted that there are 2000 accused persons and 600 witnesses in V.Senthil Balaji (supra) and 210 witnesses in Arvind Dham (supra), but in the present case, there are only 6 witnesses and number of accused persons are also less, therefore, conclusion of trial will not take enough time. Hence, the aforesaid judgments are not applicable in the present case. It is further submitted that all the points which have been argued in the present case, have been argued before this Court in the bail application of co-accused Saurabh Sharma which was dismissed on merits by passing a detailed order on 27.09.2025 in M.Cr.C. No.19270/2025. All the points have also been argued before the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the bail application of....
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....ra 49 that:- "49. It thus, emerges that at the stage of considering a bail application under the PMLA, the Court has to bear in mind the following aspects: i. Whether the accused possessed the requisite mens rea. ii. The words used in Section 45 of the 2002 Act are "reasonable grounds for believing" which means the Court has to see only if there is a genuine case against the accused and the prosecution is not required to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt. iii. A positive finding that the accused had not committed an offence under the Act is not required to be recorded. A delicate balance between a judgment of acquittal/conviction and an order granting bail much before commencement of the trial is to be maintained. iv. The evidence is not to be weighed meticulously but a finding is to be arrived at on the basis of broad probabilities with reference to the material collected during investigation. The weighing of evidence to find the guilt of the accused is the work of Trial Court. v. A finding is also required to be recorded as to the possibility of the bail applicant committing a crime after grant of bail. This aspect has ....
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.... over". It is, therefore, a separate class of offence requiring effective and stringent measures to combat the menace of money laundering. xxxxx 300. Thus, it is well settled by the various decisions of this Court and policy of the State as also the view of international community that the offence of money-laundering is committed by an individual with a deliberate design with the motive to enhance his gains, disregarding the interests of nation and society as a whole and which by no stretch of imagination can be termed as offence of trivial nature. Thus, it is in the interest of the State that law enforcement agencies should be provided with a proportionate effective mechanism so as to deal with these types of offences as the wealth of the nation is to be safeguarded from these dreaded criminals. As discussed above, the conspiracy of money- laundering, which is a three-staged process, is hatched in secrecy and executed in darkness, thus, it becomes imperative for the State to frame such a stringent law, which not only punishes the offender proportionately, but also helps in preventing the offence and creating a deterrent effect. xxxxx 12.2 There is ple....
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....nforcement, (2018) 11 SCC 46; Serious Fraud Investigation Office vs Nitin Johari, (2019) 9 SCC 165; and Nimmagadda Prasad vs CBI, (2013) 7 SCC 466. 13. This Court shall now proceed to examine the present matter. 14. It is a settled position of law that statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA hold evidentiary value and are admissible in legal proceedings. The Hon'ble Supreme Court, while emphasizing the legal sanctity of such statements, has time and again observed that they constitute valid material upon which reliance can be placed to sustain allegations under the PMLA. In a recent judgment, the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Abhishek Banerjee v. Enforcement Directorate, (2024) 9 SCC 22 has made such observations which are as under: "21. ...Section 160 which falls under Ch. XII empowers the police officer making an investigation under the said chapter to require any person to attend within the limits of his own or adjoining station who, from the information given or otherwise appears to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case, whereas, the process envisaged by Section 50 PMLA is in the nature of an inquiry against the proceeds of crime and is n....
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....on in the court room, and it may also extend to compelled testimony previously obtained from him. It is available therefore to a person against whom a formal accusation relating to the commission of an offence has been levelled, which in the normal course may result in a prosecution" 14.2 The Supreme Court in the case of Tarun Kumar Vs. Assistant Director, Directorate of Enforcement decided on 20.11.2023 in SLP (Crl.) No.9431/2023, has held thus: "15. In our opinion, there is hardly any merit in the said submission of Mr. Luthra. In Rohit Tandon vs. Directorate of Enforcement7, a three Judge Bench has categorically observed that the statements of witnesses/ accused are admissible in evidence in view of Section 50 of the said Act and such statements may make out a formidable case about the involvement of the accused in the commission of a serious offence of money laundering. Further, as held in Vijay Madanlal (supra), the offence of money laundering under Section 3 of the Act is an independent offence regarding the process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime which had been derived or obtained as a result of criminal activity relating to or in relation to a s....
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.... said company; that this company was opened by co-accused Saurabh Sharma and he was made director by Saurabh Sharma and the company was incorporated to deal in sale and purchase of land. He also disclosed that funds to purchase properties/assets in the name of M/s. Aviral Building Construction Pvt. Ltd. were arranged by co-accused Saurabh Sharma either through unsecured loans in the name of M/s. Aviral Building Construction Pvt. Ltd. from various persons like Gautam Rai Rally, M/s Arihant Associates, Ram Raja filling station and other persons or through deposit of funds in the account of M/s Aviral Building Construction Pvt Ltd. (ii) Statement of Shri Rohit Tiwari recorded under Section 50 of PMLA: Shri Rohit Tiwari has disclosed that Sourabh Sharma is the husband of his cousin sister Smt. Divya Tiwari. He stated that in the nine companies or firms he is director/partner. He knows Chetan Singh Gaur through Saurabh Sharma and he was made Additional Director in M/S Aviral Building Construction Pvt. Ltd for four months in which present applicant and Chetan Singh Gaur are the main directors. (iii) Statement of Shri Vinay Haswani recorded under Section 50 of PMLA: Vinay Hasw....
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....he purpose of purchase of properties from M/s. Emaar India Pvt. Ltd. Applicant met with Arvind Agrawal in 2023 through coaccused Saurabh Sharma. M/s. Aviral Building Construction was engaged in the. business of real estate and develépment project and no books of accounts wére prepared for the last-02 fiinaneial years and no- audit was done for the same; that accounting wark of this company was looked after by one accountant namely Ankit Saraf. Source of funds of the immovable properties purchased in the name of M/s Aviral Buiiding Constructions Private Limited was from unsecured loans taken from Chetan Singh Gaur, construction work agreement for sale of land and also unsecured loan taken from Murali Patidar, Aditya Pratap Singh. M/s. Aviral Building Construction Pvt. Ltd. executed an angreement with M/s. Mandodeep Nagrik Sahkari Pratastha, Pune for sale of land situated at Bhairopur; that he was not aware the amount for which the said agreement for sale of land was entered as the said deal was looked after by Saurabh Sharma. He further disclosed that M/s Rajmata Bharat Mata Shiksha Avam Samaj Seva Samiti has six members namely Smt. Umar Sharma (President), Deepak A....
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....from his frined Chetan Singh Gaur on his personal gurantee and this amount has been taken by the present applicant for the purpose of purchasing the property from M/s Emaar India Pvt. Ltd. He knows Vinay Haswani who has given loan of Rs. 31 lac to the present applicant on his personal guarantee and this amount has been taken by the present applicant for the purpose of purchasing the property from M/s Emaar India Pvt. Ltd. (vii) Statement of Krishna Jaiswal recorded under Section 50 of PMLA: Smt. Krishna Jaiswal, mother of present applican, has disclosed that her main source of income is from rental house from the shop situated at Mansarovar Colony and house at Machana Colony Bhopal. She is one of the directors in M/s. Aviral Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., but she does not know the details of other directors. Her son (present applicant) used to look after day to day affairs of this company. Her son was also one the directors in M/s Aviral Building Constructions Private Limited. 18. Upon the perusal of the requisite documents, including the statements of the applicant quoted hereinabove, co-accused and the relevant bank statements, the following inferences can be drawn with respect ....
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....i, present applicant and Chetan Singh Gaur were appointed as Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary etc. of said society. Smt. Uma Sharma, present applicant, Saurabh Sharma and Chetan Singh Gaur are authorized signatories of bank account No.5296814006 of Central Bank of India belongs to M/s. Rajmata Bharatmata Shiksha Avam Samaj Kalyan Samiti, Bhopal, therefore it seems that these are the beneficiaries and owners of said committee and the society was used by them for laundering the proceeds of crime acquired by present applicant and co-accused persons. It is pertinent to mention here that Manodeep Nagarik Sahakari Patsanshtna Maryadit has also transferred money to M/s. Aviral Building Construction Pvt. Ltd. which shows that all these are connected with each other. It is found that Rohit Tiwari is brother-in-law of co-accused Saurabh Sharma and he was also made Additional Director in M/s. Aviral Building Construction Pvt. Ltd. for four months and he gave Rs. 86 lacs to co-accused Chetan Singh Gaur as unsexured loan on the guarantee of co-accused Saurabh Sharma. 24. In the investigation, it is also found that Smt. Krishna Jaiswal, mother of present applicant, was also Director in....
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....ed against the appellant along with the other accused on 30- 1-2023, in which the summary of investigative findings against each of the accused persons have been recorded in Para 8 thereof. The details of the investigation conducted by the respondent ED have been stated in Para 9 and the role of each accused including the appellant in the commission of alleged offence of money laundering has been stated in Para 10 thereof, which reads as under: "10. Role of accused in the offence of money laundering A. Evidences of offence of money laundering against Smt Saumya Chaurasia- Mrs Saumya Chaurasia is an officer of the Chhattisgarh State Civil Services who was posted as the Deputy Secretary in the Office of Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and was working as an OSD to CM. Despite being relatively very junior in the bureaucratic hierarchy, she enjoyed unprecedented power and control because of her direct access to higher political powers. Information shared by the Income Tax Department and analysis of documents and digital devices seized during the searches conducted under Section 17 PMLA, 2002 revealed that Smt Saumya Chaurasia, Deputy Secretary working in the Ch....
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.... investigation has established that Mrs Saumya Chaurasia and her family went on a spree of acquiring immovable assets during the period which coincided with the coal levy scam. These assets of which she is the real beneficial owner were identified and attached by issuance of provisional attachment orders(s) as detailed in succeeding paragraphs. 20. The evidence relating to strong relations between the appellant and Mr Suryakant Tiwari, between the appellant and Mr Manish Upadhyay, and between the appellant and Mr Anurag Chaurasia; the evidences of movement of funds acquired out of extortion syndicate run by Mr Suryakant Tiwari to Manish Upadhyay, proxy of the appellant; the utilisation of proceeds of crime and acquisition of properties by the appellant in the name of her mother Shanti Devi and cousin Mr Anurag Chaurasia along with the details of the said properties, etc. have been detailed in the said prosecution complaint, which leave no doubt in the mind of the Court that prima facie the appellant has been found involved in the commission of the offence of money laundering as defined in Section 3 of the said Act." 29. As the Hon'ble Supreme Court has emphasized in a c....
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....e sensitive and sympathetic towards the category of persons included in the first proviso to Section 45 and similar provisions in the other Acts, as the persons of tender age and women who are likely to be more vulnerable, may sometimes be misused by the unscrupulous elements and made scapegoats for committing such crimes, nonetheless, the courts also should not be oblivious to the fact that nowadays the educated and well placed women in the society engage themselves in the commercial ventures and enterprises, and advertently or inadvertently engage themselves in illegal activities. In essence, the courts should exercise the discretion judiciously using their prudence, while granting the benefit of the first proviso to Section 45 PMLA to the category of persons mentioned therein. The extent of involvement of the persons falling in such category in the alleged offences, the nature of evidence collected by the investigating agency, etc. would be material contradictions." 32. Now this Court shall decide as to the applicant has successfully discharged the burden of proving that he is not guilty of the alleged offence and is unlikely to commit any offence while on bail. 33. It is ....