IANS | 12 Aug, 2022
A single judge bench of the Calcutta High Court turned down the plea
from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to freeze the assets of Rashmi
Metaliks Limited and also gave a clean chit to the company in a money
laundering case filed against it by the central agency.
Calcutta
High Court's single-judge bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya
observed that the ED raids in multiple premises of the company and
subsequent freezing of bank deposits worth Rs 95 crore were conducted
after seven years from the date on which all pending proceedings in the
matter were stayed by the Supreme Court.
Justice Bhattacharya also observed that the impugned orders cannot be sustained either in law or in fact.
"This
court is therefore inclined to hold that the ED could not have
initiated any action against the petitioners during the subsistence of
the order of stay of the pending proceedings against the petitioner no. 1
by the Supreme Court dated 14th December, 2015," Justice Bhattacharya's
order said.
The single-judge bench also maintained that the
prayer for stay made on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate was
considered and refused given the findings and observations made in the
judgment," read the court order.
