New Delhi: The Delhi HC has quashed the Enforcement Case Information Report registered by the Enforcement Directorate against Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. and several of its employees and ordered that no further violent action be taken against Indiabulls and its employees in a case in which the Bombay High Court has already revoke the FIR.
On Monday, the High Court (HC), in an order passed, kept aside the (LOC) issued against these employees and said there should be no query, takeover or summons arising out of the (ECIR) Enforcement Case Information Report.
After many challenges to specific provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the accused, the high court (HC) bench of Justices Anish Dayal and Mukta Gupta already said the Supreme Court had decided it in an earlier judgement.
FIR against Indiabulls and its Employees
Referring to the Supreme Court judgement, the high court said that the court finds no practical reason for the said Enforcement Case Information Report to be assisted against them, without any proper evidence of a predicate offence or an FIR against Indiabulls and its employees, which is in existing or is legally alive.
The high court was dealing with a batch of petitions by Indiabulls Asset Management Company Ltd, Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (IHFL), and several of its employees challenging the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered by the ED and proceedings the case after that.
They argued that the Enforcement Directorate had prosecuted them in the Enforcement Case Information Report without any underlying crime registered against them.
Delhi HC quashes ED’s ECIR against India bulls
They said the Bombay High Court (HC) has already cancelled the FIR registered against Indiabulls at Maharashtra’s Palghar police station with the supposed predicate offence on a complaint by one of the shareholders that he sustained losses owing to the decline of his shares as a result of the suspected draw of money and misdealing by Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd.
The argument order under section 156(3) CrPC and the FIR stood to cancel.
The high court said there would be no remainder in this matter against the accused as regards the proclamation made in the complaint and crystallized in the FIR.
Therefore in all these cases, both of the employees against whom no complaint was ever filed for the scheduled offences and those against whom it was filed and has been cancelled subsequently by a court of competent judgement, it would only be suitable that the said ECIR against them under PMLA be quashed.
All proceedings consequent undertaken or directed by the respondents of any official authority are set aside,” it said.
