Delhi HC upholds ED's power to extend asset attachments during pandemic

New Delhi, Sept. 25 -- The Delhi High Court has ruled that the period of limitation for confirming the provisional attachment of properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was validly extended by the Supreme Court's orders issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A division bench set aside the judgment of a single judge and dismissed a related writ petition, holding that the extraordinary directions from the Supreme Court, which excluded the pandemic period from statutory timelines, applied to quasi-judicial proceedings under the PMLA.

The case involved a challenge to a provisional attachment order issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The central question was whether the 180-day period for an adjudicating authority ...