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Synopsis

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, a judge of the Supreme Court of India, has recently said that cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, (PMLA) are hotly contested and for whatever reasons many of such cases have acquired political overtones. 

While the judge was speaking at the book launch of 'Treatise on PMLA – Law and Practice' by advocate Mr. Akhilesh Dubey, he added "PMLA is the most contemporary subject of the recent times and law on the subject is evolving… PMLA is a live issue and to put it, it is a hot issue, like a hot potato...".

Noting that PMLA is important weapon in the fight against tainted money, Justice Bhuyan added that although it is very much necessary to fight the menace of money laundering, but a weapon loses its potency if it is overexposed, overapplied or misused.

"If that happens, there may be a negative perception about the actions of the Enforcement Directorate and by extension PMLA. If this happens then it is the community and by extension, the nation which will suffer...", the supreme court judge has said.

Being a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, matters arising out of PMLA are regularly listed before my bench, therefore I will only confine myself to the text of the law and a few decided cases, the judge went on to clarify in his address.

The judge added that it is a well-accepted principle in law that the stiffer the procedure, the higher will be the level of judicial scrutiny. Saying that there is nothing wrong in that, Justice Bhuyan clarified that the objective is always to ensure that in the process of prosecuting and punishing the guilty, the innocent person should not suffer.

"We hope and trust that all these stakeholders will apply the lawyer. It’s too true spirit having regard to the objective of the legislature and keeping in mind the overarching constitutional mandate of article 21 of the Constitution of India...", Justice Bhuyan said in conclusion.