'They Want To Arrest Me Before Elections': Congress Leader DK Shivakumar Approaches Delhi High Court Against Money Laundering Probe

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice in a plea moved by Karnataka Congress Chief DK Shivakumar challenging the investigation initiated by Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him in a money laundering case.

A division bench of Justice Mukta Gupta and Justice Anish Dayal sought response of ED, while listing the matter for next hearing on December 15.

Shivakumar has challenged the proceedings initiated by ED in the year 2020, arguing that the agency is "re-investigating the same offence" which it had already investigated in a previous case registered by it in 2018.

It has thus been prayed that the entire investigation along with continued probe, including issuance of summons in the 2020 case, be quashed.

Furthermore, the Congress leader has also challenged the constitutional validity of Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009, by virtue of which the schedule of the Act was amended and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was included under the anti-money laundering law.

In this backdrop, it has been argued that the inclusion of Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act in the schedule of PMLA is ultra vires the Constitution as the ingredients of the offence under the said provision is same as required to attract the offence under Section 3 of the PMLA.

"Thus, there is complete overlapping of investigation by two different agencies i.e. the agency investigating the predicate offence under Section 13 o f the Prevention of Corruption Act and the respondent agency investigating the same u/s 3 ofthe PML Act," the plea reads.

During the course of hearing today, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Shivakumar argued that the case raises a question in respect of including Section 13 of the Prevention of the Corruption Act in the list of predicate offence under the PMLA by the Amendment Act of 2009.

"Once you come to the conclusion that the assets are disproportionate, there cannot be money laundering after that, as a matter of law…," Sibal said.

He added: "They have conducted investigation in previous prosecution in this very thing of money laundering…this was done in 2018 ECIR. Now the elections are near so they have started the process…so that before elections I can be arrested…."

The case dates back to August 2017 when certain seizures were made by the Income Tax Department at the premises of Shivakumar. ED had then lodged an ECIR in 2018 on the basis of the prosecution complaint filed by Income Tax Department. 

The agency alleged that there was a criminal conspiracy between different individuals for concealing and projecting the unaccounted and illegal money as untainted property.

Shivakumar was then summoned and later arrested in September 2019. He was thereafter granted bail by Delhi High Court on October 23, 2019.

In the meanwhile, Karnataka Government granted sanction to the CBI to inquire into the violations of the provisions of the Prevention of the Corruption Act by Shivakumar and other individuals.

The CBI then lodged an FIR in October 2020 alleging that during the period between April 1, 2013 to April 30, 2018, Shivakumar could not satisfactorily explain the possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Thereafter, ED lodged another ECIR in 2020 for probing the laundering of proceeds of crime in relation to the scheduled offence being Section 13 of Prevention of Corruption Act.

It is Shivakumar's case that the entire aspect of disproportionate assets allegedly acquired by the him when he was MLA in Karnataka was thoroughly investigated by the ED in the 2018 ECIR.

Title: DK Shivakumar v. ED