NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea by former Union minister Jairam Ramesh who challenged amendments made to the money laundering law since 2015. The Congress leader had contended that amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were made in violation of the Constitution as they were enacted as Money Bills and he had come to know about it only recently.
The high court refused to accept the contention, saying that merely because he came to know recently about the manner in which the amendments were made “would not justify the delay” in approaching the court.
“The plea...that the petitioner (Ramesh) was not aware that such amendments have been carried out as Money Bills, is no reason to challenge the amendments, at least of the years 2015 and 2016 in the year 2019. In any case, merely because the petitioner came to know recently that such amendments have been carried out as Money Bills, would not justify the delay,” the court said.
It noted Ramesh was unable to answer the Centre’s contention that he has no locus to challenge the amendments as he was not affected or aggrieved by them. “We do not think that it is a case where this court should exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution,” the bench said.
Agency inputs