Delhi High Court quashes summons to Hero Motocorp chairman Pawan Munjal

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday quashed summons issued against Hero Motocorp chairman Pawan Kant Munjal in a case registered by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) relating to foreign currency.

“The petition is allowed. Summoning order is quashed,” Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said while pronouncing the order.

The petition was filed by Munjal for setting aside a trial court's July 1, 2023, order by which the summons was issued to him for alleged offences under the Customs Act.

The high court stayed the proceedings relating to foreign currency lodged against Munjal by the DRI in November last year.

It noted that he was exonerated by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) and that the petitioner had successfully made out a case for interim protection.

It had stayed the operation of the July 1, 2023 order passed by an additional chief metropolitan (ACMM) and all proceedings emanating there from pending before the ACMM with respect to the petitioner.

The DRI had filed a prosecution complaint in 2022 for "carrying, attempting to export and illicit export of prohibited items, that is, foreign currency" against Munjal, a third-party service provider company called Salt Experience and Management Private Limited (SEMPL) and individuals Amit Bali, Hemant Dahiya, K.R. Raman and some others.

In addition to the July order, the petitioner also sought to quash the complaint pending before the ACMM and Munjal's counsel argued that the trial court's order was issued mechanically and without any reasoning.

Regarding the non-disclosure of the March 2022 order, the DRI's counsel argued that since the DRI was not a party to the proceedings before the CESTAT, it had no occasion to be aware of or withhold information about that order.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also registered a case under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This case stems from the DRI's chargesheet filed under section 135 (evasion of duty or prohibitions) of the Customs Act before a Delhi court.

The ED alleged that SEMPL "illegally exported foreign currency equivalent to about Rs 54 crore to various countries from 2014-2015 to 2018-2019, which was ultimately used for the personal expenses of P.K. Munjal."

The ED claimed that SEMPL obtained foreign exchange worth about Rs 14 crore in the names of its officials and employees, such as Hemant Dahiya, Mudit Aggarwal, Amit Makker, Gautam Kumar, Vikram Bajaj, and Ketan Kakkar, exceeding the annual permissible limit of $2.5 lakh in various financial years.

Additionally, the agency alleged that SEMPL drew foreign exchange and travel forex cards in large amounts in the names of other employees who did not travel abroad.