ORDER :

(Ujjal Bhuyan, J.)

Heard Mr. T.Niranjan Reddy, learned Senior Counsel representing E.Venkata Siddhartha, learned counsel for the petitioners; and Mr. V.Ram Krishna Reddy, learned Standing Counsel for Enforcement Directorate representing the respondents.

2. By filing this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India petitioners have prayed for the following reliefs:

i) to set aside and quash the order dated 25.07.2022 passed by the Adjudicating Authority in O.A.No.590 of 2021 and consequently to direct defreezing of the bank accounts of the petitioners besides return of documents/records;

ii) to declare Section 6 (5)(b) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as, ‘PMLA’) as unconstitutional or alternatively to read down the said provision by holding that the Bench of the Adjudicating Authority may be constituted by the Chairperson with two or more Members including one Judicial Member; and

iii) to declare Section 6 (7) of PMLA as unconstitutional or in the alternatively to read down the said provision to mean that if at any stage of the hearing of any case or matter it appears to the Chairperson or a Member that the case or matte