What happened
Justice M. Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court dismissed petitions filed by 11 persons convicted in 2016 in connection with a demonetised notes exchange scam involving allegations of looting and cheating people.
The High Court addressed a procedural objection: whether a later Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) prosecution after predicate-offence conviction amounts to a “second trial” barred by Section 300 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
A trial court had sentenced the petitioners in 2024, and the petitions were pending as appeals before the High Court when Justice M. Nagaprasanna delivered the dismissal order.
Background and legal issue
PMLA prosecutions are linked to predicate offences, meaning offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or other qualifying laws that generate proceeds of crime.
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