The Delhi Excessive Court docket has quashed a summons issued to Hero Motocorp chairman Pawan Kant Munjal in a case associated to international foreign money registered by the Directorate of Income Intelligence (DRI). The summons, issued by a trial courtroom on July 1, 2023, was for alleged offences beneath the Customs Act. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri handed the order, permitting Munjal’s plea to put aside the trial courtroom’s order.
“The petition is allowed. Summoning order is quashed,” said Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri in his order.
In November of the earlier 12 months, the excessive courtroom had stayed proceedings in opposition to Munjal referring to the international foreign money case lodged by the DRI. The interim order famous that Munjal had been exonerated by the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on the identical set of details. This data was not disclosed to the trial courtroom, reinforcing Munjal’s case for interim safety.
The excessive courtroom’s intervention had stayed the operation of the July 1, 2023 order by a further chief metropolitan Justice of the Peace and all associated proceedings in opposition to Munjal earlier than the ACMM.
The case in opposition to Munjal and different events, together with a third-party service supplier firm known as Salt Expertise and Administration Non-public Restricted (SEMPL), was filed by the DRI in 2022. The allegations included carrying, making an attempt to export, and illicit export of international foreign money. The grievance named numerous people, together with Amit Bali, Hemant Dahiya, and Okay R Raman.
Munjal’s authorized counsel argued that the trial courtroom’s order was issued mechanically with out offering any causes. The direct argument said that the order was handed “with out giving any causes.”
Responding to the non-disclosure of CESTAT’s March 2022 exoneration order, the counsel for the DRI contended that the company was not a celebration to these proceedings. Therefore, it had no event to concentrate on or withhold any data concerning that order.
Moreover, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered a case beneath numerous sections of the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act (PMLA). This case is based on the DRI’s chargesheet filed beneath part 135 (evasion of responsibility or prohibitions) of the Customs Act.
The ED has alleged that SEMPL illegally exported international foreign money equal to roughly INR 54 crore to varied international locations from 2014-2015 to 2018-2019. In line with the ED, this cash was in the end used for the non-public bills of P Okay Munjal.
SEMPL allegedly issued international alternate value round INR 14 crore within the names of its officers and workers, reminiscent of Hemant Dahiya, Mudit Aggarwal, Amit Makker, Gautam Kumar, Vikram Bajaj, and Ketan Kakkar over the permissible annual restrict of USD 2.5 lakh in a number of monetary years.
The company has additionally claimed that SEMPL procured international alternate and journey foreign exchange playing cards in important quantities within the names of workers who didn’t journey overseas.
The excessive courtroom’s choice to quash the summons in opposition to Munjal highlights the significance of coherent authorized procedures and disclosure of fabric details earlier than the courtroom. The unfolding authorized narrative continues to exhibit the intricate relationship between a number of investigative companies and judicial oversight.
(Supply- PTI)
