Supreme Court agrees to hear review pleas against 2022 PMLA verdict on ED powers

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to list for hearing a batch of petitions seeking review of its 2022 verdict that upheld the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) powers to arrest, attach properties involved in money laundering, and carry out search and seizure under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana took note of submissions by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Karti Chidambaram, that notices on the review petitions were issued in August 2022 and needed to be heard now.

The Chief Justice said the matter had been listed to record the parties' consent on bench allocation. He added that if the cases were to be listed before the bench that had heard them earlier, then three existing benches would have to be [adjusted accordingly]—the remainder of the statement was not reported.

The 2022 judgment had upheld the ED's powers under the PMLA. The review petitions challenge that decision, and the court's decision to hear them is a procedural step in that process.