Louis Berger case: HC nixes PMLA proceedings against Kamat, Churchill

Panaji: The Bombay high court on Monday quashed proceedings under the PMLA against former CM and current PWD minister Digambar Kamat and former CM and former PWD minister Churchill Alemao in the Louis Berger money laundering case, as no prior sanction was obtained by the ED to prosecute the public functionaries.

The court set aside the July 21, 2018, order where the special court took cognisance of the offence under the PMLA and issued summons to the accused persons.

Justice Ashish S Chavan stated that it will be open for the ED to move the special court, Mapusa, to take cognisance of the offence against them if sanction under Section 197(1) of the CrPC is granted in future. “This liberty will be subject to such legal and factual objections, if any, available to the applicants,” the court stated. The court said that as per Section 197(1) of the CrPC, previous sanction is a condition precedent to the court taking cognisance of an offence when the accused is a public servant and the offence alleged to have committed by him has been committed while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty.

The FIR was registered against them on July 21, 2015, on the basis of which the ED on Aug 7 that year registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR), marking the commencement of proceedings under the PMLA.

“...it is evident that the applicants before this court were public servants at the time when the cognisance was taken by the learned special court by order dated July 21, 2018. Thus, the provisions of Section 197(1) of the CrPC are squarely attracted to the applicants,” the high court held.

On July 12, 2018, a complaint under the PMLA was instituted before the special court at Mapusa. The court took cognisance of the offence on July 21, 2018, and issued summons to the accused persons. On July 22, 2021, the special court framed charges under the PMLA against them.

Advocate Parag Rao represented Digambar Kamat, and advocates Mark Valadares and Sahil Sardessai represented Churchill Alemao. S Samant with Anshul Kumar Sarathe represented the ED.


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