Overview

• Additional Solicitor General S. V. Raju acknowledged before a Division Bench that the ED lacks authority to seal locked premises during search operations under Section 17 of the PMLA.
• The concession followed ED notices pasted on film producer Akash Bhaskaran’s Semmenchery office and businessman Vikram Ravindran’s Poes Garden residence warning against entry without ED permission.
• The court reserved its orders on interim relief applications from Bhaskaran and Ravindran, who argue they are not named accused in the alleged ₹1,000-crore TASMAC money-laundering case.
• The judges granted the ED four weeks to file its counter-affidavit on the main plea challenging the legality of the searches and sealing of premises.
• The ED agreed to withdraw the notices and return seized devices and documents, including laptops and mobile phones, taken from Bhaskaran’s Chennai residence on June 16.