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Will designated court be able to hear PMLA, PCA cases, asks HC
The bench of justice Mridula Bhatkar asked for a clarification after she was informed that the judge of the designated court room number 48 was to be transferred to another court.
The Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday sought clarification from the principal session’s judge, on whether the designated court room for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) would be able to hear all cases against diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.
The bench of justice Mridula Bhatkar asked for a clarification after she was informed that the judge of the designated court room number 48 was to be transferred to another court.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), asking for three cases under PMLA and two cases under the PCA to be heard by the same trial court. The state informed the court that the principal session’s judge had issued a notification stating that court room number 48 would be the designated court for hearing all matters pertaining to PMLA.
A similar plea for hearing all matters under PMLA and PCA in one court was also filed by Vipul Chitalia (co-accused in the Mehul Choksi case) and Hemant Bhatt (co-accused in the Nirav Modi case).
Advocate Vijay Agarwal, appearing on behalf of Chitalia and Bhatt, stated that if the matters are tried in one court, the contradictions in the cases made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED would come to light.
However, the counsel for CBI told the court that the special PMLA court could not hear cases under PCA. But the counsel for ED rebutted the claim and said that under relevant sections of the PMLA, the special PMLA court could hear and decide on cases registered under PCA, so all five cases should be heard in the same court. Justice Bhatkar said she would pass an order only after receiving a clarification.
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