The Enforcement Directorate has recently approached the Bombay high court seeking to review the court’s stay on proceedings to declare Mehul Choksi as a fugitive economic offender.
The plea presented by the ED was brought before the bench of Justice Sarang Kotwal at the Bombay High Court, with a request for an urgent hearing.
The central investigative body also highlighted that Mr. Choksi has absconded beyond the territorial jurisdiction of India.
Previously, the ED also submitted an application before a specialized court in Mumbai, pursuant to the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act of 2018, with the intent of having Choksi declared a fugitive.
During the proceedings conducted before the aforementioned specialized court, Mr. Choksi filed a petition through his legal representatives before the Bombay High Court.
This petition challenged an interim order issued by the specialized court under the PMLA.
In January 2020, while granting an extension to the ED for the submission of its response, the Bombay High Court simultaneously imposed a suspension on the issuance of any orders by the specialized PMLA court.
In its plea before the court, the central probe body ED stated “After an efflux of 3 years, the matter ought to be heard afresh. However, due to this stay by this court, the Special Judge is not hearing the matter afresh,” while citing the urgency before Justice Kotwal.
Mehul Chowksi’s counsel pointed to a line in the ED’s request stating, “The interim order (of stay) granted, is without any reasons and has indirectly stayed the extradition proceedings against the said accused.”
Upon hearing this contention, Justice Sarang Kotwal reproached the ED for casually making such a comment.
Subsequently, the agency retracted this comment from the legal document known as the praecipe – a document prepared by legal practitioners outlining the case’s particulars along with reasons necessitating an urgent hearing.
In a previous ruling from the year 2020, the Bombay High Court prohibited the specialized PMLA court from issuing a definitive ruling on the ED’s plea, that sought the declaration of Mehul Choksi as a fugitive economic offender.
While the ED has successfully procured a declaration of Nirav Modi as a fugitive economic offender, and the proceedings for his extradition are currently underway, the extradition process pertaining to Mr. Choksi remains dormant due to the aforementioned suspension imposed by the court.
After the hearing, Justice Sarang Kotwal has scheduled September 8 as the date to hear Mr. Choksi’s plea in the ongoing case.
Nirav Modi, who was formally declared a ‘fugitive economic offender’ in December of the year 2019, alongside his maternal uncle Mehul Choksi, stands accused of orchestrating a fraudulent scheme amounting to Rs 14,000 crore by illicitly securing credit facilities from Punjab National Bank.
