FINAL ORDER

29.10.2025

Dictated By: Rajesh Malhotra

Present appeals under Section 26 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (hereinafter PMLA) are filed by the appellants against the order dated 17.04.2018 passed by the Adjudicating Authority in Original Complaint No. 852/2017 (OC), whereby the properties attached by ED vide Provisional Attachment Order No. 21/2017 (PAO) dated 30.10.2017 were confirmed. The details of the said properties are mentioned at internal page no. 67 to 139 of the Provisional Attachment Order in Schedule I to Schedule III and the said details is not reproduced herein for the sake of brevity. However, the total properties of the Appellants along with registration value and the guidelines value prescribed by Govt. of Tamil Nadu are tabulated as under:

2. As per the facts of the case, the FIR no. 156/2012 dated 06.08.2012 was lodged at P.S. Keelavalavu, District Madurai, Tamil Nadu against the accused persons for the Commission of offences punishable under Sections 120-B of IPC read with 304, 447, 379, 434, 420, 467, 468 & 471 of IPC and also Section 6 r.w.s. 3 & 4 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and also r.w.s. 3(1)(ii)(iii) of TNPPDL Act, 1992, and the substantive offences thereunder. The said FIR was registered against S/Shri Paneer Mohamed, C. Rabeek Raja and Others for illicit quarrying out granites and for causing huge damage to human life and property by setting up explosives in Keelavalavu village. After investigation, police filed final report u/s 173 Cr.P.C. against the accused persons on 01.10.2013 against M/s Madurai Granite Exports, C. Paneer Mohamed, C. Rabeek Raja and 19 other accused persons. As per chargesheet, the accused persons trespassed into the nearby areas of Governments Rocky Poramboke land and carried out mining works by using deadly explosive substances to misappropriate the multi-coloured granite stones in an illegal manner during the period prior to and between 2005 to 2012, quarried at non-licensed Government land and selling illegally dug multi colored granite stone causing loss to the Government exchequer to the extent of Rs. 277.42 Crores and illicit gains for themselves.

On the basis of police investigation, the Directorate of Enforcement, Chennai Zone recorded the ECIR No. 03/CEZO/2014 on 30.06.2014 for initiating investigation pertaining to the offence of money laundering and to check the trail of proceeds of crime.

Four more FIR No. 166/2012, 183/2012, 397/2013 & 19/2015 were registered and charge-sheet were filed in first three FIRs, against the same accused persons, for similar offences in different Police Station totalling the loss to the Government exchequer to the Rs. 450 crores.

As per the police investigation, the illegal granite mining scam took place in Madurai District, Tamil Nadu by M/s Madurai Granite Exports, M/s RR Granites, M/s MR Granites and others and the same are as follows:

Shri U. Sagayam, IAS., was appointed as Special Officer/Legal Commissioner by the Hon’ble High Court to probe into the Granite Mining Activities. He was earlier the District Collector of Madurai District and during his tenure as District Collector, he had received various Complaints and Petitions on illegal mining of granite stones and he had conducted enquiry and submitted a report to the Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, vide Report dated 19.05.2012, wherein he had detailed the enquiries conducted by him and also made various recommendations to curb the illegal mining scam.

Shri Anshul Mishra, District Collector, Madurai, the Successor to Shri U. Sagayam, constituted 18 District Level Teams vide Proceedings No.318/2012/Kanimam dated 1.8.2012 with each Team comprising officials from the Revenue Department, Geology & Mining, Rural Development Department etc. for the purpose of conducting initial survey and assessment of mining in all granite quarries located in Madurai District.

Shri Atul Anand, Commissioner of Geology and Mining, Che