The Bombay High Court on Monday quashed proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against former Chief Minister and current Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Digambar Kamat, as well as former Chief Minister and former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao, in the Louis Berger money laundering case. The court ruled that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had failed to obtain prior sanction required to prosecute the public functionaries.
Court's Ruling on Sanction Requirement
Justice Ashish S. Chavan set aside the July 21, 2018 order of the special court, which had taken cognisance of the offence under the PMLA and issued summons to the accused. The High Court held that as per Section 197(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), previous sanction is a condition precedent for a court to take cognisance of an offence when the accused is a public servant and the alleged offence was committed while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of official duty.
The court noted that both Kamat and Alemao were public servants at the time cognisance was taken, making Section 197(1) squarely applicable. The High Court granted liberty to the ED to approach the special court in Mapusa for fresh cognisance if sanction under Section 197(1) is obtained in the future, subject to any legal or factual objections from the accused.
Background of the Case
The First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Kamat and Alemao on July 21, 2015. Based on this, the ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) on August 7, 2015, initiating PMLA proceedings. On July 12, 2018, a complaint under the PMLA was filed before the special court at Mapusa, which took cognisance on July 21, 2018, and issued summons. Charges were framed on July 22, 2021.
Legal Representation
Advocate Parag Rao represented Digambar Kamat, while advocates Mark Valadares and Sahil Sardessai represented Churchill Alemao. The ED was represented by S. Samant with Anshul Kumar Sarathe.
