Above: Karti Chidambaram (file picture)/Photo: Anil Shakya  

Apex court bench to study section 19 of PMLA Act regarding the ED’s power to enforce an arrest

Hours after the Delhi High Court’s decision to extend protection (from arrest) to Karti Chidambaram to March 22 (an extension of two days), the Supreme Court extended that interim relief further to March 26. This is about a case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding alleged money laundering in the INC Media case.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D Y  Chandrachud will hear the case which it has had transferred from the high court to the apex court, because there is a technical issue of interpretation of section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in relation to the ED’s power to arrest an accused.

The apex court, while effecting the transfer, has said that several high courts have had different interpretations of the section and the apex court wants to study it.

—India Legal Bureau