Chhagan Bhujbal seeks to withdraw plea opposing PMLA sections

Former Maharashtra deputy chief minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal approached the Bombay high court to withdraw his petition in which he had opposed a few sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Bhujbal in March in a PMLA case.

Bhujbal’s lawyer, Vikram Choudhary, said that he wanted to file a fresh petition instead. The ED’s lawyer Hiten Venegaonkar opposed Bhujbal’s move, saying the petition has challenged the constitutional validity of some sections of PMLA and it should not be withdrawn. The next hearing in the case is on November 15.

A vacation bench of the Bombay high court, headed by Justice Makarand Karnik, was hearing Bhujbal’s application, who sought permission from the court to withdraw his petition challenging the constitutional validity of PMLA’s section 19 and 45, which deal with the powers to arrest anyone in a money-laundering case and making such an offence cognisable and non-bailable respectively.

Mr Choudhary told the court, “We want to withdraw this PIL with the liberty to file a fresh petition.” Mr Venegaonkar said, “Bhujbal has challenged constitutional validity of the sections and they also wanted liberty to file it again with fresh details. They must tell us the reason behind this.”