Delhi HC upholds ED action against Virbhadra Singh

The Delhi High court on Thursday upheld the validity of a money laundering law provision, as it rejected 10 pleas — including those by former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh.

A bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice IS Mehta upheld section 5(1) second provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the provision that empowered the ED to attach the properties bought from the proceeds of the crime.

The petitions, which included Singh's daughter Aprajita, sand mining baron J Sekar Reddy and his business associates, had challenged its constitutional validity.

The provision deals with an officer's power to provisionally attach a person's property suspected to be brought from proceeds of crime, if he has "reasons to believe" that not doing so could frustrate the PMLA proceedings.

POSITION CLEARED

• Upholds validity of a PMLA provision that empowers ED to attach properties bought from proceeds of crime
   
• Virbhadra, kin had filed 10 pleas challenging its constitutionality