Madras HC quashes order taking cognisance of ED complaint against drug smuggling accused Jaffer Sadiq
Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan, however, restore the complaint and direct the court concerned to grant an opportunity of hearing to the accused before taking cognisance
The Madras High Court has overturned a session court's decision to take cognizance of a money laundering complaint filed by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) against drug smuggling suspect Jaffer Sadiq, without providing him an opportunity to be heard. The court's decision follows a petition filed by Sadiq to quash the entire proceedings initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The ED had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Sadiq and others on March 11, 2024, based on three drug smuggling cases, which were considered predicate offences for invoking the PMLA. Sadiq claimed he was unaware of any such cases against him prior to 2024 and that the ED had intentionally used unrelated cases to seize properties he had acquired since 2015.
The court also noted a Supreme Court ruling from May 25, 2025, which stated that courts should not take cognizance of offences without giving an opportunity of hearing to the accused after the coming into force of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) on July 1, 2024.
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