Starting from May 1st, the Supreme Court is scheduled to address 400 writ petitions. These petitions challenge the compatibility of penal provisions under five laws with both the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Constitution. Among the laws under scrutiny are the Goods and Services Tax Act, the Customs Act, the Companies Act, the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
NEW DELHI: Today (April 24): The Supreme Court is set to hear the matter on May 1st. Over 400 writ petitions have been filed, challenging the compatibility of penal provisions under five laws with the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Constitution. The Goods and Services Tax Act, the Customs Act, the Companies Act, the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
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A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh, and Bela M. Trivedi has been assigned to hear the batch of petitions. Additionally, the same bench will also address the case concerning the validity of provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The counsel representing the petitions are Ashish Batra and Vivek Gurnani for the Customs Act, Malak Bhatt and Kanu Agrawal for the Companies Act, Rajat Mittal and Annam Venkatesh for the Goods and Services Tax Act, and Karan Bharioke and Vivek Gurnani for the Black Money Law.
One of the pleas states:
“The authority to arrest and prosecute is not subsidiary or tangential to the authority to impose and gather GST. Furthermore, Entry 93 of List I grants jurisdiction to Parliament to enact criminal laws exclusively concerning matters listed in List I, not including GST. The protection afforded by Article 20(3) of the Constitution does not extend to individuals summoned under Section 70(11). There is no constitutional safeguard under Article 20(3) available to the summoned individual.”
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Similarly, the pleas challenging provisions of the Companies Act question the powers and procedures of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). The petitioners assert that the bail conditions under the Act are unreasonable, drastic, and inconsistent with the presumption of innocence.
The petitions pertaining to the Black Money Act primarily challenge the penalties and prosecution prescribed under the Act. Two sections are particularly contested. Firstly, Section 54, which assumes a culpable mental state on the part of the accused, contrary to the principle of “innocent until proven guilty,” Secondly, Section 55, which allows prosecution by the principal commissioner without adhering to the processes outlined in the CrPC,.
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Similarly, the Customs Act petitions challenge the proceedings conducted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, citing violations of the protections available to the accused under the CrPC and the Constitution.
The petitions challenging criminal prosecution under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) raise similar concerns regarding the protection of accused individuals.
