The Supreme Court Today (Oct 4) stayed the order passed by the Madras High Court by which it had revoked its earlier decision to quash a money laundering case against retired police officer MS Jaffar Sait. A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said that it will examine how the High Court passed its order restoring the case after it had initially quashed the case.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court stayed an order issued by the Madras High Court, which had reversed its previous decision to quash a money laundering case against retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer MS Jaffar Sait.
The Bench, consisting of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih, noted that it would closely examine how the High Court reinstated the case after initially quashing it.
“Several issues have to be looked into, including the manner in which High Court has passed orders. We direct that orders based on Enforcement Case Information Report and Criminal OP have to be stayed,”
-stated the Supreme Court.
The Court also remarked,
“We are also on the issue of how orders are passed after the case/ECIR has been quashed,”
-and instructed the involved counsel to conduct research on similar judgments.
The Court said it will lay down the law on the issue of high courts revoking orders dictated in open courts.
The case will be heard again on November 22.
Background of the Case
The money laundering case was initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against MS Jaffar Sait, who is accused of illegally acquiring a plot of land from the Tamil Nadu Housing Board in 2011. Prior to the ED’s case, Sait had faced a corruption case filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). However, the Madras High Court quashed the DVAC case in 2019.
Following this, Sait approached the High Court seeking the dismissal of the ED’s money laundering complaint as well.
On August 21, 2023, a Bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam quashed the ED’s complaint, observing that since the DVAC case (the predicate offence) had been quashed, the money laundering case could not stand.
Controversy Surrounding the High Court’s Recall of the Quashing Order
However, two days later, on August 23, the same Bench recalled its previous order and decided to rehear the case on its merits. This decision came after a different Bench, comprising Justices Subramaniam and R Sakthivel, raised concerns regarding money laundering cases failing to reach their logical conclusion because predicate offence FIRs were being quashed.
The recall of the quashing order led to a heated exchange in the High Court, and MS Jaffar Sait subsequently moved the Supreme Court to challenge this reversal.
When the Supreme Court first heard the appeal on September 6, it directed the Registrar General of the Madras High Court to submit a detailed report in a sealed cover regarding the handling of the case.
Supreme Court’s Interim Relief for Sait
During the October 4 hearing, the Enforcement Directorate informed the apex court that the predicate offence continues to stand against another accused.
However, Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, representing Sait, argued-
“It does not survive against me.”
After considering the submissions, the Supreme Court observed that the matter requires deeper examination and stayed the money laundering proceedings against Sait.
The Supreme Court’s interim stay provides temporary relief for MS Jaffar Sait, but the final outcome will depend on the detailed examination of the High Court’s actions and the legal standing of the money laundering charges.
The next hearing is scheduled for November 22, when the Court will continue its deliberations on the case.
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