No Travel Restrictions for Wife of PMLA accused as she is not Named in FIR: Delhi HC grants Bail [REad Order]

The Delhi High Court granted bail to the wife of the accused arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 ( PMLA ) as her name was not mentioned in the FIR. The Court held that there is no restriction to travel abroad as her name is not on the accused list. Henna Alagh, the petitioner filed a petition seeking permission to travel to Cannes, France from 14.05.2024 to 25.05.2024. The Petitioner is a model by profession. It was stated that the petitioner is married to Mr. Amit Katyal, who is currently being investigated by Respondent No. 2 under the provisions of the PMLA Act. It was stated that the Petitioner and Mr. Amit Katyal have been separated since September 2022 and an application for dissolution of marriage is pending before the Principal Judge, Family Court, Patiala House Court. It is further stated that the Petitioner does not hold any position in any The Court issued notice in the application and a reply on behalf of Respondent No.2/ED has been filed. The reply filed by the ED does not show that the Petitioner has been arrayed as an accused in the FIRs and ECIRs and only investigation is being conducted against the Petitioner. It was further stated in the reply that the Petitioner herself has given a statement under Section 17 of the PMLA that her present residential apartment at Gurugram, has been purchased from the payment source of Mr. Amit Katyal and a sum of Rs.2.25 crores were received into her bank account from group company M/s Heaven Tradelink Pvt. Ltd. which was further transferred by the Petitioner to the account of M/s Jasmine Buildmart Private Limited. Further, in the reply that as per the statements given by the Petitioner under Section 17 of the PMLA, the Petitioner herself has admitted that her bank accounts were used by Mr. Amit Katyal for transferring money from one company to another. The investigation is going on and it is yet to be found if the Petitioner was involved in the transactions or was she doing it at the instance of Mr. Amit Katyal. The reply filed by the ED does not indicate that the Petitioner is required for investigation between 14.05.2024 to 25.05.2024. During the course of the hearing it was stated by the Counsel for the Petitioner that the Petitioner’s father is prepared to give his passport as a security in order to satisfy the conscious of this Court that the Petitioner will return back to the country. The Counsel for the Petitioner has also stated that the father of the Petitioner is also prepared to give an undertaking that he will not create any third party rights on his property, bearing Apartment Since the Petitioner has not been named in any of the FIRs, a Single bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad granted permission to Petitioner to travel to Cannes, France from 14.05.2024 to 25.05.2024 on certain conditions. The Petitioner was directed to furnish a security for a sum of Rs.25 lakhs in the form of an FDR before the Registrar of this Court. Petitioner’s father was directed to give an undertaking that he shall neither dispose off nor create any third party interest in property, bearing Apartment No.T4-2203, 21st floor, Tower T4, Tata Primanti, Sector 72, Gurugram, during the period the Petitioner is travelling outside the country. Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates