SC quashes money laundering case against Sekar Reddy

The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate, Tamil Nadu, against an industrialist, A.J. Sekar alias Sekar Reddy. Passing orders on an appeal, a Bench, comprising Justices Vineet Saran and J.K. Maheshwari, said the department was unable to collect any incriminating material. “From the material collected by the agency, they themselves are prima facie not satisfied that the offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act can be proved beyond reasonable doubt…We are of the firm opinion that the chances to prove those allegations in the court are very bleak,” the order said. The case pertains to the seizure of ₹33.89 crore by the Income Tax department during searches on the premises of Mr. Reddy and his partners in SRS Mining Company, in December 2016. This led to the Central Bureau of Investigation registering three cases, and subsequently the Enforcement Directorate, after establishing prima facie evidence of assets of crime proceeds, invoking provisions under the PMLA. While the Madras High Court quashed two FIRs, the third has now been closed for want of evidence. In September 2020, the CBI filed a closure report saying it found no evidence to prosecute Mr. Reddy. Almost four years after registering the case, the agency filed a closure report in the trial court, stating “nothing incriminating surfaced” against the accused persons. The Income Tax department, in June 2021, concluded that the money seized in the case was proceeds from the sale of sand by M/s SRS Mining. Mr. Reddy is currently the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ Local Area Committee (Tamil Nadu & Puducherry) president.