New Delhi, April 11 -- The Delhi High Court has underscored the need for careful examination of whether proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) can progress to the framing of charges before charges in the predicate offense are formally established.

In an interim order, the court instructed the Special Court to delay the framing of charges to a date beyond the one set by the High Court.

This decision came in response to a petition filed by Congress MP Karti Chidambaram. He requested the deferment of arguments in the Chinese Visa scam and Aircel-Maxis deal cases, both of which are currently being prosecuted by the Enforcement Directorate.

Justice Ravinder Dudeja, in an order issued on April 9, observed that the di...