KOCHI: While the Special Court for PMLA cases in Kochi witnessed fierce legal arguments over the bail petition filed by former principal secretary M Sivasankar in the gold smuggling case, several noted Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases like those against former union minister P Chidambaram and Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar were also raised. The court also asked the defence counsel to give a copy of the Supreme Court order confirming the bail granted to Shivakumar in an ED case by Friday.
Around 20 various judgments on various aspects of PMLA (Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002) and NDPS Act were discussed during the hearing. The defence side produced around six verdicts by various High Courts on granting bail to accused persons in PMLA cases.
Shivakumar’s case became a point of discussion when the defence cited exemption to grant bail to accused persons under Section 45 of PMLA. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju stated that verdicts of the other High Courts should not be considered as this court is only bound to rulings made by the Kerala High Court and Supreme Court. On this, the defence side cited a Supreme Court order confirming the bail granted to Shivakumar by the Delhi High Court last year.