Mumbai The Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Jet Airways founder and former chief Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal in a money laundering case.
According to a bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj K Chavan, all pending proceedings and actions relating to Goyal’s case were quashed as the inquiry and proceedings emanating from the ECIR against him were illegal and contrary to law.
On January 24, the division bench granted interim relief to Goyal and his wife not to take any coercive action till January 31 in the money laundering case.
Goyal had filed a petition in the High Court seeking quashing of the ECIR report. Goyal said the ECIR “cannot be sustained” in respect of the mandate of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and has to be struck down as it is not a predicate offence.
Back in February 2020, the ED took cognizance of an FIR lodged by the MRA Marg police station in Mumbai based on a complaint filed by travel agency Akbar Travels against Jet Airways, Naresh and wife. A closure report was filed in the case in 2021 and the court accepted it despite ED’s opposition. Though the ED’s counsel countered, the court on Wednesday asked what would happen if the offense arising out of ECIR’s registration was closed.
Advocate Karan Kadam, appearing for Naresh Goyal, submitted that “there is no predicate offense for the investigating agency to investigate the said ECIR”.
Kadam also said that as a result of the complaint lodged at MRA Marg Police Station, Mumbai, a ‘C’ summary report was filed by the police. Even the protest petition filed by the ED was dismissed and the said order was affirmed by this Court as well as the Supreme Court.
The order relied on various judgments of the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court in similar cases where the position of law has been declared by the Courts and it has been held that when a person is finally acquitted of a scheduled offense or a criminal case against him is acquitted/dismissed by a Court of competent jurisdiction, no offense of money-laundering (scheduled offence) against him can survive.
The court had on February 21 asked the central agency why the case cannot be quashed as the scheduled offense has already been quashed by the court.
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