PMLA Tribunal Upholds ED's Attachment of Karti Chidambaram's Assets, Rejects Covid Delay Argument

New Delhi:

The Appellate Tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has rejected Karti P. Chidambaram's appeal, validating the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) attachment of his assets. The Tribunal determined that the delay in filing the prosecution complaint was covered by the Supreme Court's Covid-19 limitation extensions.

In its final order dated October 29, the Tribunal, consisting of Member (Judicial) Rajesh Malhotra and Member (Administrative) Balesh Kumar, ruled that although the prosecution complaint was submitted on June 1, 2020—exceeding 365 days after the Adjudicating Authority's confirmation order of March 29, 2019—the period between March 15, 2020, and February 28, 2022, was excluded from calculation due to pandemic-related judicial restrictions.

Representing Karti P. Chidambaram, Advocates Arshdeep Khurana, Akshat Gupta, and Sidak Singh Anand argued that the attachment should have automatically lapsed as the ED failed to file its complaint within the mandated 365-day timeframe. They referenced previous Tribunal decisions and the Supreme Court's judgment in S. Kasi v. State, contending that the COVID limitation orders were applicable only to litigants and not to executive actions such as filing prosecution complaints.

On behalf of the Enforcement Directorate, Advocates Zoheb Hossain, Vivek Gurnani, and Kanishk Maurya challenged this interpretation, highlighting how the lockdown had significantly restricted court operations and movement. They maintained that the ED's actions were protected under the Supreme Court's suo motu order extending limitation periods during the pandemic.

Supporting the ED's position, the Tribunal observed: "The coverage of the Supreme Court's order dated 10.01.2022 was wide enough to allow the filing of the prosecution complaint under PMLA beyond 365 days of the passing of the impugned order, as long as such period fell within the extended period of limitation from March 15 2020, to February 28, 2022."

With the appeal dismissed, the provisional attachment of Karti Chidambaram's assets will continue, including his 50% share in the Jor Bagh property in New Delhi valued at ₹16.05 crore and multiple bank accounts with Indian Overseas Bank in Chennai.

The Tribunal did provide some relief regarding property possession. Having previously protected possession by granting status quo, the Tribunal clarified that while this interim protection would end with the appeal's disposal, possession "can henceforth be taken only if exceptional reasons exist," referencing the Supreme Court's ruling in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary & Ors. v. Union of India (2022).