Chennai: Madras high court has set aside the conviction and three-year jail term to a duo awarded by the special court for Enforcement Directorate cases, since they were set at liberty in the predicate offence probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).However, the first bench comprising chief justice SA Dharmadhikari and G Arulmurugan said the ED could proceed further with legal course available if CBI appealed against the high court’s acquittal order and the same was reversed.The predicate case against R Sekar and Anwar Hussain pertained to alleged bribing to the tune of ₹13 lakh to secure an engineering seat for the former’s son at Anna University. They were arrested by CBI in 2011 and the principal special judge convicted the two men.
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They were sentenced to four years in prison. Meanwhile, ED too launched a money-laundering probe against the two persons and the ED court sentenced them to undergo three years of imprisonment.However, the duo appealed against the conviction in the predicate offence before the Madras high court and the conviction was set aside on June 29. Citing the same, they challenged the conviction by the ED court.Additonal solicitor-general ARL Sundaresan, who appeared for ED, submitted that the Enforcement Directorate should be given liberty to proceed further if the Supreme Court reversed the high court’s order in the predicate offence handled by the CBI.The first bench, while acquitting the duo of money-laundering charges, said: “It is made clear that in case an appeal is filed as against the judgment passed in the predicate case and the same is set aside, it would be open to the Enforcement Directorate to take further steps in accordance to law.”
