No special audience for the wealthy: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday deprecated a "new kind of litigation" being filed by wealthy accused challenging the validity of laws under which they stand prosecuted.

The oral observation fell from a division bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi during the hearing of a plea filed by Delhi-based lawyer Gautam Khaitan, accused in the ?3,600 crore VVIP chopper scandal.

Speaking for the bench, CJI Kant made it clear the top court will not grant special audience to such accused just because they have the financial wherewithal to directly move the SC. Making it clear the court will take a "harsh view" of such litigation(s), CJI Kant orally observed that just because someone is a "person with resources and is feeling uncomfortable" because of the laws under which they are booked, they (directly) move the court challenging the vires of the legislation. CJI disapproved of such an emerging "unique trend" and made it clear that the wealthy accused will have

to "face the trial like any other citizen".

Khaitan's counsel informed the bench that Khaitan is challenging the vires of a specific provision "Section 44(1)(c)" of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). As the bench refused to entertain the plea independently, Khaitan's counsel urged the bench to tag the petition with an existing clutch of pleas seeking review of the top court's 2022 ruling on PMLA which upheld various provisions of the Act.