On a plea challenging Sections 50 and 63 of the PMLA, the Supreme Court sends notice to the Centre and the ED.
Govind Singh, a Congress MLA, has challenged the PMLA's provisions, arguing that the ED summons was issued against him out of pure political vengeance and malice.
Ankush Pandey
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court sent notice to the Centre and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding a petition challenging the constitutionality of Sections 50 and 63 of the PMLA, 2022.
Govind Singh, the Leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly and an elected Congress MLA from the Lahar constituency, filed a petition with a three-judge bench composed of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Aravind Kumar, and Ahsanuddin Amanullah. The petition was addressed to the bench.
During a short hearing, senior promoter Kapil Sibal showed up for Singh and let the court know that the request given by the ED was out of malignance and sheer political grudge as it were.
The court has scheduled the case for an additional conference following a month and a half.
The notice from the highest court comes shortly after 14 political parties filed another set of petitions with the Supreme Court, alleging that the ED and CBI were used arbitrarily to arrest opposition leaders. It is likely that this case will be heard in the first week of April.
According to Singh's petition, the ED issued him a summons on January 24 under Section 50 of the PMLA despite the fact that, to the best of his knowledge, he is not the subject of any criminal cases or FIRs.
"There are no specifics about the alleged predicate offense or the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the cryptic and vague summons that was issued to Singh." The plea stated, "The purpose of attendance of the petitioner required by the ED is not even clarified by the summons."
An ED officer can summon a person and record their statement under Section 50 of the PMLA, which can be used as evidence in court.
The petition has also challenged Section 63 of the PMLA, which states that it is illegal to make a false statement and that the Supreme Court's decision in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India was not taken into account when deciding whether or not Section 50 and Section 63 of the PMLA are legal.
