CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday issued statutory notice to the PMLA Adjudicating Authority for issuing summons to film producer Akash Baskaran by disobeying the interim orders of the court staying all further proceedings initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the raids on his premises linked to the alleged Tasmac scam.
A division bench of justices MS Ramesh and V Lakshminarayanan, while issuing the statutory notice requiring the presence of the chairperson and the registrar of the adjudicating authority on November 11, 2025, expressed reservations over the way the summons were issued to Akash Baskaran asking him to appear before the authority for final hearing.
“We do not appreciate the manner in which the petitioner is summoned for final arguments,” the bench said, and issued the statutory notice requiring their presence in the court. The bench adjourned the hearing to November 14.
The statutory notice was issued while hearing a contempt of court case filed by Akash Baskaran against the enforcement directorate (ED) and the adjudicating authority for sending him a notice in connection with the money-laundering proceedings. The bench, then, had summoned Vikas Kumar, assistant director, ED. However, he moved the Supreme Court which exempted him from personal appearance.
On Monday, his counsel KM Kalicharan submitted that the adjudicating authority on September 20 sent notices to Akash Baskaran summoning him to appear for final hearing on October 10.
He said the authority had sent the notice in violation of the interim order passed by the court on June 20, 2025 staying all further proceedings in pursuance of the raids held on the premises of Akash Baskaran and businessman Vikram Raveendran on May 15, 2025, linking them to the alleged Tasmac scam.
