If no charges are proved against a person even after a year in the ongoing investigation, then the ED will have to return his seized property.
The Delhi High Court said this while hearing a case related to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The court said that if nothing is proved even after 365 days of investigation, then the period for seizing the property lapses.
Then that property will have to be returned to the person concerned. The court has said this while hearing the case of Mahendra Kumar Khandelwal vs ED.
Justice Naveen Chawla said that in Money Laundering Act cases, only the time in which the case is pending in the court is counted as pending period.
Under this, the period for challenging the summons, filing appeal against the seizure action and hearing on it is not included.
In such a situation, if the investigation is not completed within a year and the case does not move forward, then the seized property will have to be returned.
Not only this, the court also said that the provision for confiscation of property in the Money Laundering Act is very strict. This should be considered before taking action.
The court gave this order while hearing the case related to Mahendra Kumar Khandelwal of Bhushan Steel and Power. Khandelwal said that ED had seized jewelery and all the documents from his house during the search.
This action took place in February 2021, but his things are still with the ED. Hearing this, the High Court ordered that if the ED continues the investigation even after a year, then the seized property will have to be returned.
Khandelwal had also appealed on the same grounds that his property should have been kept out of the confiscation process on February 11, 2022.