The Supreme Court has reconstituted a three-judge bench to hear a batch of petitions challenging its 2022 judgment that upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s sweeping powers under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The newly constituted bench comprises Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N Kotiswar Singh. The matter is scheduled for hearing on May 7. The reconstitution follows the retirement of Justice CT Ravikumar, who was earlier part of the bench along with Justices Kant and Bhuyan.
In March, after the petitions were inadvertently listed before a two-judge bench, Justice Kant had clarified that a fresh three-judge bench would be formed to hear the matter.
The 2022 verdict, delivered by a three-judge bench, upheld the ED’s powers of arrest, attachment of property, and search and seizure under the PMLA. It also ruled that the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) need not be provided to the accused in every case and held that ED officers were not equivalent to police officers under the CrPC.
However, in August 2022, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider certain aspects of the judgment, particularly the non-supply of ECIR and the reversal of the presumption of innocence, which it said prima facie warranted re-examination.
The original judgment came in response to over 200 petitions filed by individuals, companies, and organisations challenging various provisions of the PMLA, which critics have alleged are being used to target political opponents.
The court had also upheld the controversial Section 45 of the Act, which imposes stringent twin conditions for granting bail in money laundering cases, declaring it to be constitutionally valid.
