SC posts PMLA judgment review to August 28, asks if it is an ‘appeal in disguise’

Supreme Court reviews judgment granting Enforcement Directorate powers, emphasizing review is not an appeal against the verdict.

A Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant scheduled for August 28 a series of petitions seeking a review of a July 2022 judgment of the apex court, which gave unbridled powers to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to arrest and summon individuals and raid private property under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The Bench, also comprising Justices C.T. Ravikumar and Ujjal Bhuyan, however, made it a point on Wednesday (August 7, 2024) to note that review in open court should not take the tone of an appeal against a Supreme Court judgment.

Justice Ravikumar asked whether, even if a judgment had “gravely erred”, review proceedings would still partake the character of an appeal. There is no appeal against a judgment of the final court. Exercise of review and curative jurisdictions of the apex court are rare and entertained in case of apparent errors or biases in the verdict.

“Let us see if this is an appeal in disguise?” Justice Ravikumar asked senior advocates Kapil Sibal, A.M. Singhvi, Menaka Guruswamy and other lawyers for the various petitioners, including Karti Chidambaram.

The review petitions had alleged that the apex court’s July 27, 2022 judgment deprived an accused person of basic rights, which include even a copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).

The core amendments to which the judgment gave its stamp of approval had virtually transferred the burden of proof of innocence onto the shoulders of the accused instead of the prosecution.

The 545-page judgment, authored by Justice (now retired) A.M. Khanwilkar, had upheld the PMLA’s controversial “twin conditions” for bail.