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The DRI had filed a prosecution complaint in 2022, accusing Munjal, along with Salt Experience and Management Private Limited (SEML) and individuals Amit Bali, Hemant Dahiya, K.R. Raman, and others, of ‘carrying, attempting to export, and illicit export of prohibited items, namely foreign currency’.
The Delhi High Court, on Wednesday, annulled the summons issued to the Chairman of Hero Motocorp Pawan Kant Munjal in a case registered against him by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) concerning foreign currency.
Munjal had filed a plea seeking to overturn the trial court’s order wherein he was summoned for alleged violations under the Customs Act.
The bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri, while delivering the judgment, stated, ‘The petition is allowed. Summoning order is quashed’.
The court observed that the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) had already exonerated him, and Munjal had successfully established a case for interim protection.
The court suspended the implementation of the July 1, 2023, order by an Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) and all subsequent proceedings before the ACMM concerning Munjal.
Munjal sought to nullify the complaint pending before the ACMM, arguing through his counsel that the trial court's order was issued without proper reasoning.
The DRI's counsel countered, stating that the DRI, not being a party to the proceedings before the CESTAT, was unaware of the March 2022 order and had no opportunity to withhold such information.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also registered a case under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stemming from the DRI's chargesheet filed under section 135 (evasion of duty or prohibitions) of the Customs Act in a Delhi court.
The ED alleged that SEMPL ‘illegally exported foreign currency equivalent to about Rs 54 crore to various countries from 2014-2015 to 2018-2019, which was ultimately used for the personal expenses of P.K. Munjal’.
The ED claimed SEMPL had procured foreign exchange worth approximately Rs 14 crore in the names of its officials and employees, such as Hemant Dahiya, Mudit Aggarwal, Amit Makker, Gautam Kumar, Vikram Bajaj, and Ketan Kakkar, surpassing the annual permissible limit of $2.5 lakh in various financial years.
Additionally, the agency accused SEMPL of obtaining foreign exchange and travel forex cards in large amounts in the names of other employees who did not travel abroad.
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