The main legal point established in the judgment is the applicability of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 to offences committed prior to its enforcement, and the interpretation of its retrospective and retroactive operation.

JUDGMENT :

Dinesh Kumar Singh-I, J.

1. This Criminal Misc. Application u/s 482 Cr.P.C. has been moved with a prayer to quash the Impugned Summoning Order dated 02.04.2018 passed by the Learned Sessions Judge, Allahabad in Complaint Case No. 4 of 2018, Assistant Director Vs. Rajendra Singh & others along with all consequential proceedings of the said complaint case pending in the above Court and simultaneously prayer is also made to stay the proceedings of the case.

2. The facts of the case as narrated in the affidavit filed in support of the application are that complaint had been filed by opposite party no. 2 on 27.03.2018 against the applicant & others under Section 45 (1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as "PMLA, 2002"), in the court of learned Sessions Judge, Allahabad with a prayer that cognizance of offence of money laundering for violation of Section 3 of the said Act, may be taken against the accused persons and they may be punished under Section 4 of the said Act and also for issuing order for confiscation of the property attached under Section 5 of the Act (PMLA) and confirmed under Section 8 of the Act in terms of Section 8(5) of the Act. The said complaint was registered as Complaint Case No. 4 of 2018 (Assistant Director Vs. Rajendra Singh & others). It is further mentioned that Special Investigation Team (S.I.T.), U. P. had registered a Case Crime No. 7 of 2010 on 27.08.2010 in pursuance of the order dated 03.12.2010 passed by Lucknow Bench of this Court in Writ Petition No. 10503 of 2009 (Vishwanath Chaturvedi Vs. Union of India & others) against the 36 accused persons. The allegation made by S.I.T. was that during the period 2004-05 and 2005-06, the food grains for Public Distribution System (in short PDS) were diverted to black market, which caused a huge loss to the Government exchequer to the tune of Rs. 80.64 lakhs and corresponding wrongful gains to the accused persons. Subsequently the case was taken up by Central Bureau of Investigation by registering FIR No. RC0062010A0025 on 14.12.2010, and investigation was conducted, thereafter charge sheet was submitted on 01.05.2012 against the present accused/applicant along with two others namely, Ram Murat Yadav, the then godown incharge and Shiv Bux Singh (now deceased) under Sections 120B, 406, 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 I.P.C. and Section 13 (2) read with Section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (in short P.C. Act) for the offence said to have been committed during the period from December 2004 to June 2006. The role assigned to the applicant is that initially late Shiv Bux Singh had issued 16 bearer cheques amounting to Rs. 71.84 lakhs from his own account No. SF–160 in Punjab National Bank, Nawabganj Branch, Gonda in favour of the applicant Rajendra Singh. Thereafter, the applicant collected the 16 bearer cheques by late Shiv Bux Singh and the same were received in cash as per the details given in the table mentioned in the affidavit. Thereafter the applicant started making banker's cheques/demand drafts in favour of different kotedars of Block Godown, Nawabganj, Gonda and submitted the same to Food Corporation of India, Gonda and lifted the PDS foodgrains and in connivance with Late Shiv Bux Singh and others, he sold the same into black market during the year 2004-06. He also used different bank accounts of Subhash Singh, Dinesh Kumar Yadav, Bhim Singh and Kamlawati for preparing the banker's cheques/demand drafts in bulk in the name of the different kotedars for lifting PDS foodgrains and subsequently by selling the same in black market in connivance with other co-accused for wrongful gains to themselves and causing wrongful loss to the Government exchequer. The offence is committed by the applicant under Sections 120B, 420, 467, 471 being scheduled offence as mentioned in Part -A of the schedule of PMLA, 2002. On the basis of C.B.I. Case No. RC0062010A0025, a case has also been registered under ECIR. No. E