ORDER :

1. This criminal original petition has been filed seeking to set aside the rejection order dated 13.09.2021 in Crl. M.P. No. 12726 of 2021 in C.C. No. 37 of 2015 on the file of the Principal Sessions Court, (Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 [for brevity “the PML Act”] Chennai, with further direction to the learned Principal Sessions Judge, Chennai, to take the discharge petition on file and decide the same on merits.

2. The petitioners are facing a prosecution in C.C. No. 37 of 2015 under Section 3 r/w 4 of the PML Act before the Principal Sessions Court, (Special Court for PML Act Cases), Chennai.

3. Earlier, the petitioners filed a quash petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. in Crl. O.P. No. 22222 of 2016, for quashing the prosecution against them on various grounds. The said quash petition was heard in detail by a Division Bench of this Court and by order dated 01.02.2021, dismissed the quash petition, the operative portion of which, reads as under:

“11. In view of the reverse burden under Section 24 of the PML Act, we cannot decide this issue in a quash petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C.

In fine, this criminal original petition is dismissed as be