HYDERABAD : The Telangana High Court on Tuesday disposed of a longstanding petition filed in 2016 by Dalmia Cements Bharath company and its MD, Punith Dalmia, challenging the legal validity of Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA). The court ruled that no further adjudication was necessary in light of the Supreme Court’s judgement in July 2022, which upheld the validity of Section 50 of the Act.
Punith Dalmia and his company were implicated in the Dalmia Cements charge sheet filed by the CBI in connection with a quid pro quo case involving Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The CBI alleged that Punith Dalmia paid bribes to individuals associated with Jagan Mohan Reddy in exchange for limestone mines for his cement company in Andhra Pradesh.
Following the filing of the charge sheet by CBI, the ED initiated a probe into the matter. Punith Dalmia, when summoned by the ED officials for deposition, approached the high court challenging the perceived harshness of the provisions of the PMLA, particularly Section 50. The section grants ED officers the status of a civil court, empowering them to summon any accused or suspect and compel them to disclose the truth. Punith argued that this provision amounted to self-incrimination and urged the court to declare it unconstitutional, aligning it with constitutional guarantees of the right to life and other fundamental rights.
Before a bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Anil Kumar on Tuesday, Additional Solicitor General B Narasimha Sarma apprised the bench of the SC’s judgement in the case of Vijay Madanlal Choudhary Versus Union of India. This judgement upheld the validity of Section 50, which was under challenge before the court.
The bench concluded that no further adjudication was warranted in the case and accordingly disposed of it.