IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that mandatory notice requirements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act must be adhered to, or the attachment order is invalid.

ORDER :

(M.S. Ramesh, J.) :

(Prayer : Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for the issuance of Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to call for the records of the respondent with regard to the impugned order of Provisional Attachment passed by the respondent under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 vide Provisional Attachment Order No.07/2019 dated 29.05.2019 and was subsequently, confirmed by the adjudicating authority vide O.C.No.1155/2019 in File No.ECIR/CEZO/03/PMLA/2016, dated 26.11.2019 issued under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 dated 05.11.2019 insofar as the Schedule Property are concerned and quash the same as untenable in law, unreasonable, illegal and further to direct the respondent to hand over the possession to the petitioner.)

This Writ Petition has been filed seeking quashment of the impugned Provisional Attachment Order No.07/2019 dated 29.05.2019 passed by the respondent, which was subsequently confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority vide O.C.No.1155/2019 in File No.ECIR/CEZO/03/PMLA/2016, dated 26.11.2019, issued under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') dated 05.11.2019, insofar as the scheduled property is concerned and further direct the respondent to handover the possession to the petitioner.

2.1. The property, being a house plot bearing No.E5, Akshaya Garden measuring about 1,200 sq.ft., comprised in old S.No.577/2A (part), new S.No.577/2A6, Nedungundram Village within the Sub Registration District of Tambaram and registration District of Kancheepuram (hereinafter referred to as 'the subject property'), was originally purchased by one C.Sasi, through an auction under a sale certificate registered as Document No.6688/2016 dated 18.10.2016, on the file of the Sub Registrar, Tambaram. Thereafter, the subject property was sold to one G.T.Subash, through a sale deed registered as Document No.4214/2017 dated 12.07.2017. Ultimately, on 28.11.2018, the subject property was purchased by Revathy Vijayagopalan/the petitioner herein, through a sale deed registered as Document No.7342/2018, dated 28.11.2018. The name of the petitioner was incorporated in all the revenue records, including Patta No.12018.

2.2. The Directorate of Enforcement, Chennai Zonal Office, had passed a provisional attachment order dated 29.05.2019 under Section 5(1) of the Act, through an order No.7/2019. Subsequently, the attachment was confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority constituted under Section 6 of the Act, through an order in O.C.No.1155/2019 dated 05.11.2019, without any notice to the petitioner herein. On 26.11.2019, a newspaper publication was issued by the Joint Director of the Directorate of Enforcement, apprehending to take possession of the subject property in ECIR/CEZO/03/PMLA/2016 through Form-I under Section 8 (4) of the Act. The petitioner had raised her objections through legal notices sent to the Directorate of Enforcement and since there was no proper response, the present Writ Petition has been filed.

3. Heard Mr.A.Nagarajan, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.P.Sidharthan, learned Special Public Prosecutor, for the respondent.

4. The main ground raised by the petitioner is that the subject property was purchased on 28.11.2018, much prior to the provisional attachment order under Section 5 (1) of the Act, which was passed on 29.05.2019, and later confirmed by the Adjudicating authority on 05.11.2019 and since no notice was issued to the petitioner, who was the lawful owner of the property, the attachment itself cannot be legally sustained.

5. We have perused the true copies of the sale deed dated 28.11.2018 duly registered in the name of the petitioner, as well as the revenue records, including the patta, wherein the petitioner's name has been incorporated. The encumbrance certificate produced by the petitioner for the subject property also discloses the encumbranc