Court says it has jurisdiction to try PMLA case against HP CM

A special court here today held it had the jurisdiction to go into a money laundering case against Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh and his family, saying material on record showed that an immovable property was purchased in Delhi in the name of his wife Pratibha, out of the alleged proceeds of crime.
Taking cognisance on the charge sheet filed against LIC agent Anand Chauhan, Special Judge Vinod Kumar fixed the matter for further hearing on September 26.
"I have perused the complaint and the documents. I have specially asked Naveen Matta, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) to explain as to how this court has territorial jurisdiction to entertain this complaint, when all the transactions appear to have taken place in Himachal Pradesh.

"SPP has drawn my attention to part of the complaint... which describes that proceeds of crime were utilised for acquiring the entire basement and entire ground floor of a plot in Greater Kailash, Part-I, New Delhi, in the name of Pratibha Singh. SPP has drawn my attention to the flow chart which depict these facts more lucidly," the judge said.
After considering the submission made by SPP, the court said "since, as per the material on record, immovable properties in Greater Kailash, New Delhi, was purchased out of the proceeds of crime, I am convinced that this court has territorial jurisdiction to entertain this complaint."

The court asked the probe agency to provide a copy of the charge sheet and other documents to Chauhan, who is currently in judicial custody.

Enforcement Directorate had yesterday filed a charge sheet against LIC agent Anand Chauhan in a money laundering case involving Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and others.
The agency filed the final report before the court and informed it that probe into the case was still going on and it could file a supplementary charge sheet later.
The charge sheet was filed for offences under sections 3 (money-laundering) and 4 (punishment for the offence) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Act.

The ED had earlier claimed that Singh "while serving as a Union minister, had invested huge amounts in purchasing LIC policies in his own name and that of his family members through Chauhan".
"Virbhadra Singh, while functioning as a Union minister during the period from May 28, 2009, to June 26, 2012, acquired assets, disproportionate to his known sources of income to the tune of Rs 6,03,70,782 and further tried to justify the same in the form of agricultural income.
"Pratibha Singh, wife of Virbhadra Singh, Chauhan, with whom Virbhadra Singh had signed the alleged MoU for managing his apple orchard, and Chunni Lal Chauhan, proprietor of M/s Universal Apple Associates, who purportedly showed purchase of apples from Shrikhand Orchard, have facilitated in justifying the disproportionate assets of Virbhadra Singh and thereby abetted the offence," the agency had alleged.