Jharkhand HC refuses to quash ED ECIR against Amar Mandal despite coal case acquittal
SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA Ranchi, September 9: The Jharkhand High Court has refused to quash the Enforcement Directorate’s ECIR against Amar Mandal, a…
SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, September 9: The Jharkhand High Court has refused to quash the Enforcement Directorate’s ECIR against Amar Mandal, a resident of Sejakora village under Jama Police Station in Dumka district, despite his acquittal in the underlying coal-related criminal case registered at Poraiyahat Police Station in Godda district.
Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad dismissed Mandal’s plea seeking quashing of the ED proceedings and vacated an earlier interim order that had stayed further proceedings. The court, however, allowed Mandal to pursue appropriate remedies before the competent authorities and place his acquittal on record.
Court says ECIR cannot be quashed at this stage
Mandal, whose premises at Sejakora under Jama Police Station in Dumka were searched by the ED, had approached the High Court after being acquitted in the coal transportation case. He argued that the ED proceedings could not survive once the alleged predicate offence had ended in acquittal.
The court rejected the plea, noting that the ED had placed material before it relating to alleged unexplained assets and that the statutory adjudication process under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was already underway.
The court observed that quashing the ECIR at this stage would amount to interfering with the statutory jurisdiction of the Adjudicating Authority and could frustrate the mechanism prescribed under the PMLA.
Coal case originated in Godda’s Poraiyahat
The underlying case originated on January 20, 2019, when Jharkhand Police intercepted a truck carrying coal without valid documents. The incident led to the registration of a case at Poraiyahat Police Station in Godda district. The truck driver subsequently implicated Mandal and others in alleged illegal coal trading and transportation.
Mandal was later acquitted by the trial court on February 10, 2026, after the prosecution failed to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubt. Following the acquittal, he submitted the judgment before the ED and the Adjudicating Authority, contending that the money-laundering proceedings should consequently be brought to an end.
ED searches Sejakora premises
The ED had registered its money-laundering case in February 2023. During a search of Mandal’s premises at Sejakora village, under Jama Police Station, Dumka district, in November 2025, the agency seized Rs 85 lakh in cash, 134 original property deeds and other documents.
The ED opposed Mandal’s plea, arguing that the PMLA provides a separate statutory mechanism for adjudication and that his acquittal by the trial court did not amount to a final determination preventing further proceedings under the anti-money-laundering law.
Adjudicating Authority already examining seizure
The High Court noted that the Adjudicating Authority in New Delhi was already seized of the ED’s application concerning retention of the seized cash and documents.
The court held that quashing the ECIR while that process was pending would effectively usurp the jurisdiction vested in the statutory authority. It also found the judgments cited by Mandal to be factually distinguishable from the circumstances of his case.
The High Court consequently dismissed Mandal’s plea and vacated the interim stay on further proceedings.
At the same time, the court made it clear that Mandal remains free to pursue remedies available to him before the Adjudicating Authority and other competent authorities, including placing his acquittal on record. The concerned authority has been directed to take an appropriate decision in accordance with law.
