Office Notes,

reports, orders or proceedings

SL.

Date or directions COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS

No.

and Registrar’s

order with Signatures

WPMS/ 2576/ 2025

With

WPMS/ 1775/ 2025

Hon’ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J

1. Mr. Siddhartha Sah & Mr. Sanjay

Gaur, Advocates for the petitioners.

2. Ms. Monika Pant, learned counsel

for the respondents.

3. Since common questions of fact and law are involved in these petitions, therefore, both the petitions are clubbed together and decided by this common judgment. However, for the sake of brevity and convenience, facts of WPMS No. 2576 of 2025 alone are being

considered.

4. By means of this writ petition, petitioner has sought the following

reliefs:-

(i) issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of

certiorari to quash the provisional attachment order number 01/2024 in ECIR / 08 / PMLA / DNSZO / 2013 / AD(SK) / AEO(PS) / 1135 dt. 23.06.14 issued by respondent no. 1 against the properties mortgaged with the Petitioner (Contained in Annexure no. 2 to this writ

petition)

(ii) issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of

certiorari to quash the order dt. 07.11.2014 passed by Ld. Adjudicating Authority under section 8(3) of the PMLA issued by respondent no. 1 against the properties mortgaged with the Petitioner (Contained in Annexure no. 3 to this

writ petition).

(iii) issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of

certiorari to quash the order dt. 16.01.25 passed by MP-PMLA-1441/CHD/2015 Misc. FPA- PMLA-761/CHD/2014 against the properties

mortgaged with the Petitioner. (Contained in Para 9 to the writ petition).

(iv) issue a writ, order of direction in the nature of mandamus commanding/directing the respondent no. 1 for release of the mortgaged properties mortgaged with the Petitioner, attached by respondent no. 1.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that a provisional attachment order dated 23.06.2014 was passed under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and the Adjudicating Authority, vide order dated 07.11.2014 confirmed the provisional attachment order under Section 8 of the aforesaid Act.

6. Petitioner challenged the order passed by Adjudicating Authority in an appeal under Section 26 of the aforesaid Act, which was dismissed by Appellate Tribunal, vide judgment dated 16.01.2025. Thus, feeling aggrieved, petitioner has approached this Court challenging the orders of provisional attachment, order passed by Adjudicating Authority and order passed by Appellate Tribunal.

7. Ms. Monika Pant, learned counsel appearing for respondent no. 1 – Directorate of Enforcement, however, raised a preliminary objection that in view of statutory remedy of appeal available to petitioner under Section 42 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, this writ petition would not be maintainable.

8. Section 42 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, is extracted below:-

“42. Appeal to High Court.—Any person N AS IT W I R A A L J SINGH D2pDe.6oiN a 5r g Fsti:4 eBt tca: a2N=llC0Iu yN ,o m c s,de 5n iobag .0 cn N9 Hr2e6I1 Id T G7435 b5 H0RE y A CeB1N J: O52, I S74 TsU I8tCN=4 R BGU1A FHeOT-0 J9 FS 7 3AB I ' U S NR7WfTG 689 HK98HL A3RC 4S BNfWK60DHF71,4LN CD2, o5Eua3=D8H25I6GfF9H58 C0C2OaUD3RA0TC8 OFb4F08UdT13A06CR95FK1EH25Ae8aNA3D508,f 17