The Delhi High Court has approved the bail applications of three office-bearers of the local chapter of the Popular Front of India (PFI), and clarified the scope of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)&nbsp;regarding what constitutes &ldquo;proceeds of crime&rdquo;.
The term &ldquo;proceeds of crime&rdquo; refers to money obtained as a result of a criminal activity, meaning donations collected by PFI functionaries cannot be termed as proceeds of crime, to invoke the offence of money laundering, Justice Jasmeet Singh observed on Wednesday.
The PMLA defines &ldquo;proceeds of crime&rdquo;&nbsp;as money or property obtained directly or indirectly as a result of already-committed criminal activity (a &ldquo;scheduled offence&rdquo;). So money collected with the intention of committing a future crime does not qualify as &ldquo;proceeds of crime&rdquo;&nbsp;under the PMLA, the court held.
The ED&rsquo;s case against the PFI members was akin to putting the cart before the horse, Justice Singh observed.
The court made these observations while granting bail to three office bearers of the Delhi Unit of PFI - Parvez Ahmed (President), Mohd Ilyas (PFI General Secretary) and Abdul Muqeet (Office Secretary). The three have been accused of collecting funds for the PFI, which the Ministry of Home Affairs banned in 2022, and involvement in the anti CAA-NRC protests in 2020.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) can invoke Section 3 of the PMLA only in a case with &ldquo;proceeds of crime&rdquo;, the court explained, noting that the collection of funds had preceded the Delhi riots of 2020.
&ldquo;The offence committed by the collection of funds may be an offence under any law including a scheduled offence but cannot be termed as a proceeds of crime to invoke section 3 of PMLA,&rdquo; he said. 
The court approved bail for the undertrials since they have already been incarcerated for two years in a case that is unlikely to conclude anytime soon, the court said, citing the accused's fundamental rights under Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty).

Delhi HC clarifies scope of PMLA, grants bail to three functionaries of banned PFI

‘Funds for Future Crimes Not Laundering’

Delhi HC clarifies scope of PMLA, grants bail to three functionaries of banned PFI

December 4, 2024 | 16:38 IST