The Supreme Court Today (March 6) decided to review its 2022 verdict that gave the Enforcement Directorate (ED) extensive powers under the PMLA. A three-judge bench will now hear multiple petitions, including one from Congress MP Karti Chidambaram.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India today (March 6) decided that a group of review petitions challenging its 2022 decision will be heard by a 3-judge bench.
The 2022 verdict had given strong powers to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
One of the people who filed a petition is Congress MP Karti Chidambaram. He wants the Supreme Court to rethink its earlier ruling, which gave the ED significant authority to arrest individuals, conduct investigations, and seize properties under the PMLA.
Now, a 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court will look into these review petitions and decide on the matter of ED’s broad powers under the PMLA.
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Today, the case was presented before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh.
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioners, addressed the judges and began the discussion.
“Milords, the PMLA matter…”
-Sibal:
Here, Sibal was drawing the attention of the judges to the case related to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“It’s supposed to be before a three-judge bench. We have fixed the date.”
-Justice Kant responded
Justice Kant clarified that the matter had already been assigned to a three-judge bench and that a date for the hearing had been decided.
Sibal, however, pointed out an issue:
“As per registry, there is no date.”
Sibal was referring to the Supreme Court’s registry, which maintains official records of case listings. According to the records, no date had been assigned for the hearing.
“This file came before me on the admin side, and I gave them the date.”
-Justice Kant explained
He clarified that he had personally handled the scheduling of this case in his administrative capacity and had already provided a date for the hearing.
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Sibal then responded:
“Oh! I see.”
This was Sibal acknowledging the explanation given by Justice Kant.
“We will find out today because this will go to three judges.”
-Justice Kant further assured.
This statement confirmed that the case would now be officially referred to a three-judge bench, and the details would be sorted out soon.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, representing the government, suggested:
“Preferably, end of April or May.”
The Solicitor General proposed that the hearing take place either at the end of April or sometime in May, giving an estimated timeline for when the case could be heard.
The court, however, did not commit to a specific date and simply responded:
“We will see.”
This response indicated that the final decision on the exact date would be made later.
The Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling had given more power to the ED, allowing it to take action without following the usual legal protections.
This decision sparked widespread legal and political debates across the country.
Now, with the Supreme Court agreeing to review the matter, it remains to be seen if any changes will be made to the ED’s authority under the PMLA.
CASE TITLE:
KARTI P. CHIDAMBARAM Versus THE DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT
R.P.(Crl.) No. 219/2022 in T.C.(Crl.) No. 4/2018.
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