Cash for Vote: CM Revanth gets relief as tribunal sets aside ₹50 lakh attachment confirmation
The ACB said that its City Range-1 DSP, assisted by Task Force police, caught the accused red-handed and seized the Rs 50 lakh advance. There was, therefore, no apprehension that they could deal with the money to frustrate its eventual confiscation under Section 5(1)(b) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Audio and video recordings were also collected. During their appeal, counsel for Revanth Reddy and others argued that the alleged proceeds of crime were already beyond their reach as ACB had seized the cash and deposited it with the trial court.
The tribunal observed that Section 5(1)(b) required an apprehension that the proceeds of crime were likely to be dealt with in a manner that could frustrate eventual confiscation. With the Rs 50 lakh secured in court, there was no likelihood of the appellants dealing with or alienating those funds, it said. ED defended the equivalent-value attachment. Its counsel, however, could not dispute that the alleged bribe money had already been seized and remained in court custody.
Revanth Reddy and three others have secured relief from the Appellate Tribunal under SAFEMA, which set aside an order confirming the Enforcement Directorate’s attachment of ₹50 lakh in the 2015 cash-for-vote case. Hyderabad: Chief minister A. The tribunal held that ED could not attach an equivalent amount when the alleged bribe money had already been seized and was lying in trial court custody.