Vacancies in Adjudicatory Authority to get filled under PMLA

The recent order passed by the Delhi High Court regarding the Adjudicatory Authority (AA) for the replacement of empty jobs of Member of Administration, Members of Law, and Member of Finance or Accountancy within four months under the Preservation of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Alok Industries vs. Assistant Director, ED. 

Justice Pratibha M Singh, a single judge stated that steps should be done to quickly fill the administrative officer and registrar positions.

“…it is directed that all empty jobs, particularly Member (Administration), Member (Law), and Member (Finance or Accountancy), be filled as soon as possible and, in any case, within four months of today

. In the case of the Administrative Officer and Registrar positions, actions would be taken to fill them as soon as possible “Justice Singh gave the order.

The petition was heard and as a part of that, some groups of petitions were also dismissed in October 2021 regarding the Adjudicatory Authority.  

Highlights for Vacancies in Adjudicatory Authority

‘J.K. Tyre and Industries vs. Directorate of Enforcement was the leading case in the batch of 17 more petitions. 

The present case is adjourned pending the receipt of a status report on the subject of appointments and vacancies in the Adjudicatory Authority of PMLA.

The Director HQ, Department of Revenue, filed an affidavit on the present status of appointments on May 31, 2022.

Some reports get reviewed by the court and they noticed the vacancies for the positions of members in Administration and Law as advertised also the meeting is scheduled for the Selection Committee. 

The Court, on the other hand, noticed that the offices of the Administrative Officer and Registrar have remained vacant.

It was observed that the job of the Registrar had been “abolished,” and that the Department of Expenditure had filed an application with the UPSC recommending its resurrection.

“Insofar as the posts of Administrative Officer and Registrar are concerned, steps shall also be taken to fill the relevant posts on an expedited basis,” the Court stated while dismissing the petition.

The Division Bench now have the order in front of them which is in charge of the batch’s lead cases. 

The petitioners were represented by Pallavi Pratap, Shivam Goel, Petrusha Dasgupta, Mridul Yadav, and Nasrin Shaikh.

Advocates Ravi Prakash, Farman Ali, Shruti, and Taha Yasin represented ED.

While a series of motions challenging the freeze orders issued by the Judgment Sub-Department were decided by the Court last October, the current case has been held to continue to receive progress reports. 

The matter of appointments and vacancies has degrees in the judiciary under the PMLA. 

The affidavit sent by the Director of the Department of Revenue stated that on 31st May 2022 the latest status of appointments was released. 

In reviewing this information, the Court noted that for the positions of Member (Administration) and Member (Law), the vacancies have been announced and a meeting of the Selection Committee will be held. office. 

The lawyer representing the Center informed the Court that a meeting is likely to be held shortly and that the Union of India is also interested in filling these vacancies soon.

“If a Registrar position is claimed in the AAP MLA, an application must be resubmitted to restart said position within four months from today,” the Court ordered. 

Thus, the Court ordered in front of a division bench that is currently dealing with the main case in the cases group.

Read More: Asianatimes.com