The Orissa High Court recently ruled that, there is no applicability for Section 45 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act ( PMLA ) where alleged crime proceeds are under Rs. 1 Crore, while considering an application for exemption from appearance under Section 205 of the Criminal Procedure Code ( CrPC ) Bibekananda Nayak, Special Counsel represented the Enforcement Directorate. The petitioner sought to quash an order which denied exemption from personal attendance in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act Case.

The petitioner’s request for exemption from personal attendance was initially rejected by the trial court, prompting the present application under Section 482 of CrPC. It was noted that, “On a careful consideration analysis of the judgment delivered by the Coordinate Bench in Chintan Joshi’s case as well as the observation of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in appeal against the order passed in Chintan Joshi’s case, further keeping in view the provisions contained in Section 205 Cr.P.C., this Court is of the considered view that the impugned order passed by the learned Trial Court is unsustainable in law.”

During the proceedings, arguments were made regarding the applicability of Section 205 CrPC in cases under the PMLA Act, particularly focusing on the discretion of the court and the necessity for sufficient reasons to grant exemption from personal appearance. Ultimately,after thorough deliberation, the Orissa High Court set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter back to the Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge, Khurda at Bhubaneswar, for fresh consideration in light of the observations and directions provided in the judgment. With these directions, the High Court Bench of Justice A.K. Mohapatra concluded the matter, and the impugned order was thereby set aside.