SC protects media baron Raghav Bahl from coercive action of ED in money laundering case
New Delhi(PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted protection to media baron Raghav Bahl from any coercive action of the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case lodged against him.
The Delhi High Court, which on December 3 had issued notice to the ED on Bahl's plea seeking quashing of the case, however, had refused to pass any order of interim protection to him.
Issue notice. Meanwhile, no coercive action will be taken, ordered the bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana on Wednesday after taking note of the submissions of senior advocate Vikas Singh who represented the case of Bahl.
The top court also ordered tagging of fresh appeal of Bahl with the pending one on the issue. A SLP (special leave petition) has been filed as the High Court did not grant me the protection, the senior counsel argued.
On December 3, the high court had granted three weeks to the ED to file its response to the petition which, besides seeking quashing of the money laundering case, has also challenged the notices issued to Bahl by the investigating officer. Would your lordship consider granting the same order of no coercive step as granted by Supreme Court (in the case concerning the substantive offence)? Bahl's counsel had argued.
I don't consider it, sir, the HC judge had responded and had listed for further hearing on January 27.
The ED case against the petitioner arises from a complaint by the Income Tax (I-T) Department and concerns the alleged laundering of funds to purchase an undisclosed asset in London.
The I-T Department had initiated proceedings against the petitioner under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act of 2015 for alleged irregularities in the returns filed for the assessment year (AY) 2018-2019.
Bahl's lawyer had stated that after re-filing, the income tax return for AY 2018-19 has now been cleared by the assessing authorities and therefore, the money laundering proceedings cannot be allowed to go on.
Based on black money complaint, ED proceedings commenced. Now there is no violation, there are no proceeds of crime. IT (authority) has accepted the income tax return for 2018-2019 in 2021, he had told the high court.
Bahl's lawyer had added that while the challenge to the black money proceedings was pending before the Supreme Court, which has earlier given him protection from coercive action in that case, the ED has been issuing notices to him in connection with the money laundering case.
The petition claimed that since Bhal has done no wrong , the continuation of the process of inquiry under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002 without having any subsisting basis in fact or law has a deleterious effect on his life, business, and reputation.
The Respondent has ignored this, and has issued further Summons on 16.11.2021, now against all the family members i.e. the Petitioner herein, plus the Son, Daughter & Wife of the Petitioner, to begin appearing within the next 24 hrs, it stated.
The ED had said that the issue of money laundering proceedings is not before the apex court and argued that the investigation by the agency cannot be stalled on the presumption that the Supreme Court would rule in favour of the petitioner.
The counsel for the ED had said he would file a reply on behalf of the ED and that the petitioner was only being called for an inquiry.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
