SC upholds quashing of Money Laundering case against former IAS Officer B.P. Acharya

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court upheld the Telangana High Court’s decision to quash a 2016 money laundering case against former IAS officer Bibhu Prasad Acharya, accused in a quid pro quo allegations involving Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The case revolves around Acharya’s tenure as Vice Chairman and Managing Director of APIIC Limited from 2005 to 2009. Going further into details, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged that Acharya, in conspiracy with YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and others, misused his position to favor Aurobindo Group and Hetero Group companies through irregular land allotments.

According to the ED’s case, Acharya allegedly facilitated the allotment of 150 acres and the transfer of 30.33 acres in the name of Trident Life Sciences Limited from Aurobindo Pharma Limited. The ED claimed these transactions violated norms and caused a Rs 21.50 crore loss to APIIC Limited. Despite the Price Fixation Committee setting the land price at Rs 20.23 lakh per acre, Acharya allegedly reduced it to Rs 7 lakh per acre.

The ED charged Acharya under Section 3 read with Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, accusing him of knowingly assisting companies in creating and projecting proceeds of crime worth Rs 21.50 crore as untainted money.

B P Acharya approached the Telangana High Court to quash the case. He stated that “there is no sanction obtained from the Government to prosecute him and there is contravention of Section 197 Cr.P.C. for he is a public servant, IAS Officer,and currently the Principal Secretary to the Telangana Government, Hyderabad, that all the transactions that are subject matter of the charges made against him are relating to the discharge of his official duties and even in the cases of allegations of official duties being performed in derogation of the same, the protection U/Sec. 197 Cr.P. C is applicable”.

Telangana High court ruling in 2019

In its 2019 judgment, the Telangana High Court ruled that obtaining and filing sanction orders from the competent authority is mandatory for prosecuting a public servant, particularly for the special court to take cognizance under the PMLA. Then Telangana High Court observed that “initiation of criminal proceedings under PML Act by the competent authority is by filing private complaint before special Court to take cognizance by the special Court and for that the accused once a public servant and his acts constitutes the offence alleged when in discharge of official duties, sanction must have been obtained and submitted by them with the complaint before the special court for taking cognizance of the offence under the act against said public servant by then the accused”.

The Supreme Court bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih confirmed the High Court’s interpretation. They established that prior government sanction under Section 197(1) CrPC is necessary to prosecute public servants for acts performed as part of their official duties, even in cases under the PMLA.

This Supreme Court ruling significantly impacts cases involving public servants under the PMLA, clarifying that Section 197 CrPC protection extends to money laundering investigations against government officials for actions taken during their official duties.

Supreme Court Upholds Dismissal of Money Laundering Case Against Former IAS Officer BP Acharya in Quid Pro Quo Allegations

The Supreme Court has upheld the Telangana High Court’s decision to quash a 2016 money laundering case against former IAS officer Bibhu Prasad Acharya. The… pic.twitter.com/9hV1tMcJV3

— Sudhakar Udumula (@sudhakarudumula) November 6, 2024