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What happened
The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-VIII, Ernakulam, issued notices to Kollam-based cashew industrialist Aneesh Babu, 34, and his mother Anitha Babu, 54, on a complaint by the Directorate of Enforcement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED accused them of repeatedly ignoring summons for appearance and of failing to produce relevant documents. The ED said it initiated investigations based on five FIRs registered by State police for offences including forgery and cheating. The ED cited PMLA provisions that allow penalties of ₹500 to ₹10,000 per default for omitting to attend or produce documents when summoned.
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Key insights
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PMLA penalties for ignoring summons: The ED cited Section 63(2)(c) of the PMLA, stating that failure to attend or produce documents when summoned can draw a penalty of not less than ₹500 and up to ₹10,000 for each default.
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Non-attendance treated as deliberate disobedience: The ED argued that repeated non-attendance and failure to produce documents amounted to deliberate disobedience of lawful directions and impeded investigation into proceeds of crime.
Takeaways
Court notices were issued to Aneesh Babu and Anitha Babu on an ED complaint alleging repeated disregard of PMLA summons and non-cooperation in the investigation.