New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to stay the proceedings concerning confirming the provisional attachment of bank accounts of NGO Amnesty International, but said that any final order passed in the matter would not be implemented without leave of the court.
Read:| Amnesty International calls detention of J&K political leaders troubling matter
Justice Rekha Palli issued notice to ED and sought its stand on the NGO's plea contending that the provisional attachment order (PAO) of November 26 last year was valid for only 180 days and that period expired on May 25 and therefore, it has lapsed as it was not confirmed by the adjudicating authority set up under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
However, it said that any final order passed by the adjudicating authority would not be given effect without leave of the high court.
Under the PMLA, a PAO has to be confirmed within 180 days by the adjudicating authority.
Read:| Amnesty international decries NIA raids on civil society groups in India
The money laundering case of the ED is based on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR filed against Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL), Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT), Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) and Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF) that was filed under various sections of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and the section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (which denotes criminal conspiracy).
PTI
Read:| Amnesty halts India operations, cites freezing of accounts on 'unfounded' allegations
