NT Reporter
Panaji
The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Monday quashed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) against Salgaocar Mining Industries Pvt Ltd, six associated firms and partnership entities, ruling that money laundering proceedings cannot continue once the underlying criminal case has been quashed.
Justice Amit S Jamsandekar held that proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, require an underlying scheduled offence. The ED registered the ECIR in 2014 based on an FIR filed by the Goa Crime Branch following the Justice M B Shah Commission report on alleged illegal mining. However, the petitioners and their directors were not named as accused in the FIR or in the chargesheet filed by the Special Investigation Team in 2018.
In February 2025, the Special Judge in North Goa discharged all the accused named in the case. The state government did not challenge that decision. On July 16, 2026, the High Court also quashed FIR No. 15/2013 after the Supreme Court set aside earlier directions for omnibus FIRs.
Despite the quashing of the underlying FIR, the ED argued that its investigation under the ECIR could continue in relation
to other entities.
Rejecting this argument, the High Court relied on Supreme Court judgments, including Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India and Pavana Dibbur v. Directorate of Enforcement. Justice Jamsandekar held that the existence of a valid scheduled offence was a necessary condition for the ED to exercise its powers under the PMLA.
