JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Petition filed under Section 482 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1983, praying to call for the records in C.C.No.21 of 2016 pending on the file of the learned Principal Sessions Judge at Chennai and to quash the entire proceedings in C.C.No.21 of 2016.)

P.N. Prakash, J.

1. This Original Petition has been filed seeking to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.21 of 2016 pending on the file of the learned Principal Sessions Judge at Chennai.

2. The minimum facts that are required for deciding this quash petition are as under:

On intelligence that unaccounted money is stashed in the residence of one Nagarajan at No.16, 25th Cross Street, Thillai Ganga Nagar, Chennai 600061, the Inspector of Police, Adambakkam Police Station, along with Revenue Officials, searched the said premises on 12.03.2022. At the time of the search, Nagarajan was present and his statement was recorded. The search resulted in the seizure of Rs.7,20,05,000/- in cash. In his statement, Nagarajan stated inter alia that he, along with his compatriots S.Martin and G.Moorthy, had printed lottery tickets of other States and had sold the same without license in Chennai and had acquired the seized cash of Rs.7,20,05,000/-. At this juncture, it may be appropriate to verbatim reproduce the statement of Nagarajan in Tamil as under:-

3. Based on the above said statement, the Inspector of Police, Adambakkam Police Station, registered a case in Crime No.304 of 2012 on 12.03.2012 under Section 294-A, 420 and 120-B of IPC against Nagarajan (A1), S.Martin (A2) and G.Moorthy (A3). Nagarajan was placed under arrest on the same day and was remanded in judicial custody. On coming to known about the huge seizure of Rs.7,20,05,000/-, the Enforcement Directorate, registered a case on 19.03.2012 in ECIR/CEZO/02/2012/APS as the FIR in Crime No.304 of 2012 disclosed a 'scheduled offence' viz., under Section 420 of IPC under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. While Nagarajan was in judicial custody in Crime No.304 of 2012, the Enforcement Directorate obtained the necessary permission from the remanding Magistrate and went to the Central Prison, Puzhal, Chennai, where Nagarajan was lodged and enquired him on 22.03.2012. In the course of the enquiry, Nagarajan's statement was recorded by the officials of the Enforcement Directorate in which he had stated inter alia as under:

4. After Nagarajan was released on bail, he retracted the statement that was given to the officials of the Enforcement Directorate. While investigation in Crime No.304 of 2012 was in progress, Moorthy (A3) and Smt.Leema Rose (A5), who is the wife of S.Martin (A2), filed Income Tax Returns explaining the source of Rs.7,20,05,000/-. A3 & A5 submitted a sale agreement on a stamp paper dated 02.03.2012 to show as if that the sum of Rs.7,20,05,000/- was advance received for the sale of an immovable property. When this sale agreement was submitted to the police, it was noticed by the investigating officer that the stamp paper for the sale agreement was itself issued by the Treasury only on 09.03.2012 and, therefore, the sale agreement dated 02.03.2012 was a fake one. Therefore, Adambakkam Police altered the case in Crime No.304 of 2012 by adding Sections 467, 468 and 471 of IPC to the FIR along with the existing provisions. It appears that the FIR in Crime No.304 of 2012 was quashed by this court by order dated 15.10.2014 in Crl.O.P.Nos.13106 and 14971 of 2013 on the ground that the FIR did not disclose the commission of any offence. Challenging the same, the State went on appeal to the Supreme Court and in Crl.A.Nos.423 - 424 of 2018 by order dated 28.03.2018, the Supreme Court set aside the order of this court quashing the FIR and permitted the State Police to proceed with the investigation in Crime No.304 of 2012. In the mean while, the Enforcement Directorate, completed their investigation and filed a complaint in C.C.No.21 of 2016 on 07.01.2016 in the Court of the Special Judge for PMLA Cases, Ch