The Delhi High Court directed the Union of India to file the affidavit on status of appointments of Chairman and all Members of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Appellate Tribunal.
The present petition has been filed due to the non-listing of Petitioner’s Appeal before the Appellate Tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002.
It was submitted by Mr. Sanjeev Singh, counsel for the Petitioner that the appeal has been filed, however, due to complete quorum not being available and only one member functioning in the Appellate Tribunal, the matter has not been taken up.
The Counsel representing the respondents submits that he would like to take instructions as to the status of appointments of PMLA Appellate Tribunal Members. Union of India shall file an affidavit on the status of appointments of the Chairman and all Members of the PMLA Appellate Tribunal, at least three days before the next date of hearing.
The Single Judge Bench of Justice Pratibha Singh while keeping in view significance of the PMLA Appellate Tribunal held that immediate appointments to the said Tribunal would be necessary and important inasmuch as several petitions and cases are pending before the said Tribunal.
“Any delay in appointments would result in holding up hundreds of matters. Thus, the affidavit by the UOI will not merely give the status of appointments but also provide a firm timeline for the appointments to be finalised,” the bench said.
The court listed the matter on 23rd September, 2020 for the next hearing.
