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Synopsis

People's Democratic Party's President and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, withdrew her plea on Monday against the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) from the Delhi High Court in view of the recent order of the Supreme Court over a similar issue.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad disposed of the petition after the same was informed to them by Advocate Prasanna S appearing for Mufti.

It may be noted that the Supreme Court is also hearing a batch of petitions challenging several provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The said plea by Mehbooba Mufti had challenged Section 50 of the PMLA Act, which gives powers to authorities regarding summons, production of documents, and to give evidence; and sought a stay on the summon issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The plea claimed that ever since Mufti was released from preventive detention following the formal abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, there have been a series of hostile acts by the state, against her, her acquaintances, and old family friends, who have all been summoned by the ED and a roving inquiry about her personal, political and financial affairs was made, in the course of which their personal devices have been seized.

"The provision needs to be revisited in light of a verdict passed by the Supreme Court last year," Mufti said in her plea. She further stated that Section 50 of PMLA empowers ED officers to summon any person to give evidence or produce records. All those summoned are bound to answer questions put to them and produce the documents, her plea read. 

Further, she stated that she had not been informed if she was being summoned as an accused or as a witness and that she had also not been informed of what she was being summoned in connection with, and what the scheduled offence under the PMLA was which gave rise to the proceedings in respect of which summons had been issued to her.

Further, she submitted that she was not the subject of investigation, nor was she an accused, in any of the scheduled offences under the PMLA, to the best of her knowledge.

Cause Title: Mehbooba Mufti vs Union Of India & Anr.