The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday urged the Delhi High Court to dismiss the plea of Nirav Modi-owned Firestar Diamond International Private Ltd. challenging certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
“He [Mr. Nirav Modi] is a fugitive and absconder. Such a person who is evading the law and has declined to submit to the jurisdiction of the agencies is not entitled to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. On this ground alone, the petition deserves to be dismissed,” the ED’s affidavit said.
Additional Solicitor-General Sandeep Sethi, representing the ED, told the court that Mr. Modi, facing an investigation in the Punjab National Bank fraud case, was trying to abuse the process of law by moving the plea through his company.
The agency said Mr. Modi was “indirectly” challenging the money laundering case lodged in connection with the scam.
Firestar Diamond, which is named as one of the accused in the money laundering case, has sought an interim stay of ED proceedings.
But the ED, in its affidavit filed before a Bench of Justices S. Muralidhar and I.S. Mehta, contended that the application for interim orders was “not maintainable” as the investigation was at a nascent stage.
The ED said it was now at the stage of search and seizure and retention of records and was not taking possession of attached or frozen properties as apprehended by Firestar Diamond.
Firestar Diamond had moved the High Court also seeking quashing of seizure of its movable properties by the ED.
The ED has provisionally attached some immovable assets of the Nirav Modi group as part of its action against the diamond trader and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, in connection with the fraudulent Letters of Undertaking case.
