Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 22: The Principal Sessions Judge Jammu has discharged an accused from charges in the much publicized ‘Dutta Financiers’ money laundering case surfaced in the year 2013.
The court discharged the accused-Gurdeep Singh from the charges as mentioned in the challan by recording that there are not sufficient ground for proceedings against Singh for framing of charges under PMLA and consequently discharged from the offences.
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) proceedings came to be instituted by Enforcement Department (ED) in respect of scheduled offence committed by accused named in police challan against whom case under FIR 302/2012 was registered with P/S Gandhi Nagar on the allegations that they were the promoters and Directors of “Dutta Financiers” who had constituted various fictitious companies and swindled hard earned money of various depositors upon the promise that they will be paid 10% interest if they fix deposit their money and will be paid Rs. 1000 per lakh per month.
The Dutta Financiers and others had collected more than Rs. 28 crore from more than 1868 depositors for which offences u/s’s 406/409/420/467/468/120-B RPC stood proved. The court while discharging the accused-Singh from the offences said the complaint was filed without first examining the accused in terms of Section 50 of PMLA.
“Had the IO taken steps to examine him before filing a complaint in the year 2018 that would have shed more light on the manner in which the working of Dutta Financiers was being conducted by its MD and other persons connected there to”, read the order.
Court said the complaint has been lodged against accused hastily as on the one hand accused is shown to be also depositor-cum-victim of fraud in the firm and in the same breath he is shown to have indulged in money laundering which too cannot co-exist together.
Since the ED is counting on his statement recorded after the filing of the complaint and other material in order to claim that he has dealt with crime proceeds arising out of the predicate offence, court to that extent said that his discharge from present complaint should not come in the way of ED to investigate his conduct post filing of the aforesaid complaint.
“While determining the aspect nothing stated here in above shall influence their investigation if any conducted by the ED, which shall be carried in accordance with law without getting influenced from any observation recorded here”, reads the order
Court allowed the application filed by Singh seeking his discharge from the offences as mentioned in the challan and put up the matter for further proceedings against the other accused involved in the case in September.
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