Delhi HC quashes money laundering case against doctor, accomplices accused of kidney transplant racket [Read Judgment]

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has quashed the Enforcement Directorates (ED) proceedings against a doctor, one Dr. Jeevan Kumar and his accomplices who were accused of running a kidney transplantation racket.

In doing so, the Court was relying on settled law until now, that proceedings in an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case cannot be continued in a case where the accused has already been acquitted/discharged for the predicate offence.

The Court noted that the trial court had acquitted Dr. Jeevan Kumar of all the charges framed against him vide judgment dated March 22, 2013 and as the same had not been challenged, it attained finality.

It proceeded to set aside the order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Panchkula, Haryana wherein it passed an order on charge in the EDs case against Kumar.

It rejected the EDs stand that merely because one of the co-accused has been acquitted in respect of the predicate offence, the order on charge in EDs case cannot be set aside.

ED had also placed reliance on a Supreme Court order in Directorate of Enforcement v Gagan Deep Singh to submit, that as the issue whether PMLA proceedings would survive upon acquittal/discharge of the accused in a scheduled offence is still pending before the Supreme Court, the present petition also be adjourned sine die till the decision of the Supreme Court.

The Court, however agreed with Kumars submission, relying on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v Union of India, that as he had been acquitted by the trial court, the present complaint by ED is not maintainable.

It also accepted the Dr. Jeevan Kumars reliance on the Supreme Courts decision in Union Territory of Ladakh and Others V Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and Another wherein the Supreme Court has stated that, It is not open, unless specifically directed by this Court, to await an outcome of a reference or a review petition, as the case may be. It is also not open to a High Court to refuse to follow a judgment by stating that it has been doubted by a later Coordinate Bench.

Agreeing with Kumars arguments, the Court proceeded to set aside the order on charge against him in the ED case.

Facts of the case

The brief facts of the case are that an FIR was registered under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and Sections 18/19 of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 (TOHO Act) at PS Palam Vihar, Gurgaon.

Under the FIR, the doctor and his accomplices faced allegations of being involved in an illegal kidney transplantation racket and of committing various offences including those under Section 307 IPC and Sections 18/19/20 of TOHO Act, which are Scheduled Offences under PMLA.

It was also alleged that illegal kidney transplantation was the only occupation of Dr. Jeevan Kumar and his entire earnings were from this source only.

The ED also registered a case based on the alleged income derived by Dr. Jeevan Kumar from his criminal activity and the co-accused persons including the petitioner have been alleged to have assisted him in projecting it as untainted property

The investigation of the abovementioned FIR was entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after which a case was registered against the doctor and his accomplices under Sections 326/ 342/ 417/ 465/ 473/ 307/ 506/ 120B IPC and Sections 18/ 19/ 20 of the TOHO Act by the CBI being the predicate offence.

After investigation, the final report was filed by the CBI and the trial was conducted by the court of Additional Sessions Judge/ Special Judge (CBI) Najar Singh, Panchkula, Haryana.

Cause Title: Dr. Jeevan Kumar v Prabhakant

[Read Judgment]