Chennai: Madras High Court Quashes ED Money Laundering Case Against Minister
Chennai: Madras High Court Quashes ED Money Laundering Case Against Minister
Chennai court halts ED probe against Minister I. Periyasamy, citing quashed predicate offence in housing plot case.
In a significant development from the Madras High Court, a two-judge bench on Tuesday quashed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) filed by the Directorate of Enforcement in 2020 against Rural Development Minister I. Periyasamy. The judges, Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan, ruled that the ECIR could not proceed because the predicate offence on which the money-laundering allegations rested had already been quashed by the court in earlier proceedings.
The ECIR, registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2020, was linked to an irregular housing plot allotment case. The bench held that since the underlying predicate offence did not stand, the money-laundering proceedings could not continue against the minister. By allowing the petition filed by Periyasamy, the court effectively set aside the ED’s case at this stage, emphasizing adherence to the statutory requirement that proceeds of crime must be tied to a valid predicate offence.
This decision underscores the principle that money-laundering actions cannot thrive in the absence of a sustained predicate offence. The ministers’ legal team argued that the ECIR faced a fundamental flaw because the core charge had already been neutralized in the housing plot allotment matter, and the court’s ruling appears to validate that position. The ED’s pursuit of the case, based on allegations of proceeds from the predicate offence, will be limited to the scope defined by the court’s quashing order.
The ruling, coming from India’s principal southern judiciary hub, reflects the ongoing legal scrutiny surrounding cases involving government figures and real estate-related investigations. While ED investigations often span multiple years, the court’s emphasis on the linkage between predicate offences and money-laundering charges signals a rigorous gatekeeping role for judicial review in such matters. The bench’s decision invites closer examination of how future investigations frame predicate offences to ensure prosecutorial viability within the PMLA framework.
